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You are here: Skip Navigation LinksECDC Portal > English > Health Topics > Seasonal influenza

 HEALTH TOPICS A-Z

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 KEY MESSAGES

1. Influenza comes every winter and affects many people
Influenza is a contagious disease with sometime serious outcomes. However it is often preventable. Understanding how it infects and how one can prevent infection and disease is key to reducing the number of illnesses, hospitalisations and premature deaths. Read more...

2. The hard facts are often overlooked: Influenza remains a threat
Annual influenza epidemics are associated with high morbidity and mortality. ECDC estimates that on average nearly 40,000 people die prematurely each year from influenza in the EU. For each death there are many more hospitalisations resulting from complications. Read more...

3. Prevention makes a difference
Flu transmits easily from person to person. It does this through the air or from contaminated hands or surfaces. The risk of getting or causing infection is easily reduced by following some simple logical rules of prevention. Immunisation in particular decreases the risk of a person being infected. Hence proper use of flu vaccines is the most effective form of protection of the individual. Read more...

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Seasonal influenza 

 EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA

 FEATURED VIDEO

ECDC TV

 NEWS

Weekly influenza surveillance overview week 18: influenza season coming to its end in Europe
11 May 2012
High standard of influenza virus detection and typing maintained across influenza reference laboratories in EU/EEA
08 May 2012
ECDC communicable disease threats report (CDTR): week 18
07 May 2012
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 PUBLICATIONS

Weekly influenza surveillance overview, 11 May 2012 - week 18
11 May 2012
Communicable disease threats report, 6-12 May 2012, week 19
11 May 2012
External quality assessment scheme for influenza virus detection and culture for the Community Network of Reference Laboratories for Human Influenza in Europe 2010/2011
08 May 2012
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 SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES

Reproducibility of serology assays for influenza A(H1N1)2009pdm
23 Apr 2012
Association of childhood narcolepsy and cataplexy and receipt of a pandemic influenza vaccine in Finland in 2009-10 – First papers in a peer review journal
30 Mar 2012
Ferrets as experimental models of influenza in humans
07 Mar 2012
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 PUBLIC HEALTH DEVELOPMENTS

Report on the association between the 2009 pandemic vaccine (Pandemrix®) and narcolepsy – Republic of Ireland
19 Apr 2012
Lower than usual: early influenza vaccine effectiveness in parts of Europe in season 2011/12
13 Apr 2012
Controversial research on modifying A(H5N1) influenza viruses in the laboratory
04 Apr 2012
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 EVENTS

Second Joint ECDC/WHO Europe influenza meeting
06 Mar 2012
Training workshop on vaccine safety for Member States, building on the experience obtained in the ECDC vaccine safety project VAESCO
20 Feb 2012
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 EUROSURVEILLANCE ARTICLES

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