Antimicrobial resistance continues to be found in Salmonella and Campylobacter, the latest joint report from the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reveals.

This week, the CDTR reports on a measles outbreak in Wales. There are 1 039 cases of measles reported in the three different areas, among which 85 cases have been hospitalised. Although more than 33 000 non-routine vaccinations have been given across Wales during the outbreak. It is estimated that 43 000 people remain unvaccinated.m

ECDC releases a communication toolkit for seasonal influenza, with materials targeting healthcare workers and people at higher risk of developing flu-related complications.

If you are planning to organise communication activities on influenza prevention, the new ECDC communication toolkit provides campaign materials that can be adapted and reused in your country to help tackle seasonal influenza.

Between 1 October 2012 and 8 April 2013, 16 confirmed cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections were reported in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. As none of the cases have a travel history outside the EU within their period of potential exposure, this represents a multicountry outbreak, with exposure currently taking place in the EU.

The updated ECDC risk assessment of 12 April concludes that the risk of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus spreading to Europe via humans or through poultry is low at this time.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Food Safety Authority launched their annual report on zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks.

A new interactive database allows the display of selected data on antimicrobial consumption in different formats such as tables, maps and figures. The database includes data on antimicrobial consumption in EU Member States from 1997 to 2010 and ECDC will update it every year.

On 13 February 2013, the HPA announced that one family contact of the previously-confirmed case reported on 11 February was laboratory-confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus (NCoV).

A collection of six strains of Haemophilus influenzae were sent to 30 participating reference laboratories in the IBD-Labnet surveillance network for quality assessment testing.

The results show that the laboratories differ in the level of characterisation of strains, ranging from simple speciation to full identification and typing. All but two laboratories routinely phenotypically serotype isolates.

Today ECDC publishes its risk assessment on the 2012/13 seasonal influenza epidemics in Europe. Epidemics started earlier than in the previous season and western Europe and Scandinavia were the first affected areas. To date, south-western European countries (Spain and Portugal) have been less affected. ECDC advises central and eastern Europe to continue preparing for a similar pattern of transmission and intensity to that seen in western Europe and Scandinavian countries. Overall, this year there is no clear dominance of any particular influenza viruses.

ECDC has published a scientific guide outlining its European Union public health microbiology training programme, EUPHEM.

The latest issue of ECDC’s monthly series on 'Influenza virus characterisation’ covers the time period from September to December 2012.

Since 1 September 2012, A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and B/Victoria and B/Yamagata lineage influenza viruses have been detected in relatively low numbers in ECDC-affiliated countries.

The activity of seasonal influenza continues to rise in a number of European countries, especially in western Europe, concludes the latest Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview, Week 52. There is still time to protect yourself from getting or spreading the flu by being vaccinated.

The call for fellows for 2013 for the European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET) and the European Public Health Microbiology Training (EUPHEM) are now open.

In July 2012, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control initiated a Europe-wide investigation on a Salmonella Stanley outbreak, together with the affected Member States, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Reference Laboratory for Salmonella (EURL Salmonella). Cases were associated with strains showing an indistinguishable PFGE pattern not previously reported in Europe.

A joint mission of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) to Romania has recommended immediate resumption of BCG (Bacille Calmette–Guérin) vaccination against tuberculosis in infants in the country.

At its meeting in Stockholm on 14-15 November ECDC’s Management Board elected Dr Françoise Weber of France as its Chair. Dr Tiiu Aro of Estonia was elected as the Board’s Deputy Chair.

The ECDC communicable disease threats report is a weekly bulletin intended for epidemiologists and health professionals in the area of communicable disease prevention and control.

Four new human cases of West Nile fever have been reported in the EU and nine in its neighbourhood over the past week.

Vaccination effectiveness and safety and the public health event of the year are the highlights during the last day of ESCAIDE 2012.

ECDC is happy to support the launch of "Health for the EU in 33 success stories", a new publication by the European Commission featuring 33 projects funded by EU Health Programmes and showing how they contributed to improve public health in the EU.

Ten new human cases of West Nile fever have been reported for in the EU and 28 in its neighbourhood over the past week.

During the past week, ECDC continued monitoring an ongoing outbreak of Salmonella Stanley in several EU countries.

Spanish media report 14 possible cases of Legionnaire’s disease.

Twenty seven new human cases of West Nile fever have been reported for the EU and 58 for its neighbourhood over the past week.

Upon request from the European Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Food Safety Authority have jointly provided advice on an on-going outbreak of a rare type of Salmonella.

Twenty one new human cases of West Nile fever have been reported for the EU and 83 for its neighbourhood over the past week.

Today, ECDC publishes an update to its 2008 Guidance on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in Europe. The update follows the introduction of vaccination programmes in 19 European countries and new evidence from research studies over the past four years.

While many European countries are progressing towards TB elimination, the target of less than 1 TB case/ 1,000,000 population is still far from being achieved everywhere. This was one of the messages presented today by ECDC Director Marc Sprenger during the joint session with WHO "Towards elimination of tuberculosis" at the European Respiratory Society annual congress.

An outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever is ongoing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with 15 cases reported, including nine deaths in Orientale province in eastern DRC. ECDC has published a rapid risk assessment to assess the risk at an EU level associated with this outbreak.

On 25 and 26 of July, two additional cases of soft-tissue anthrax among injecting drug users have been reported from the United Kingdom and Denmark. The genetic typing of the strains related to these cases is ongoing.

Europe appears to be at little risk from dengue transmission in comparison with other global locations, even though climatic conditions exist in some parts, new ECDC report concludes.

A second case of local Plasmodium vivax malaria in Greece was reported on 17 July by KEELPNO, the Hellenic Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The case concerned a 48 year old female resident of the municipality of Evrotas, Lakonia.

ECDC published its annual surveillance report on Legionnaires’ disease in Europe in 2010. In 2010, a total of 6 296 cases of Legionnaires’ disease were notified by EU Member States, Iceland and Norway, with a 11% increase from 2009. The majority of the cases were community-acquired, while around 20% were travel-associated.

In February 2012, ECDC issued a rapid risk assessment on the outbreak of travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease affecting in a hotel in Calpe, Spain. The risk assessment was updated in May, June and 4 July. In response to new investigations by the regional public health authorities, ECDC further updates its risk assessment.

The call for abstracts for the European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE) closes on Friday 13 July 2012. Abstracts can be submitted at the dedicated ESCAIDE pages: http://abstracts.escaide.eu.

The Cambodian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) are currently investigating a number of cases an undiagnosed illness that has resulted in the deaths of several children in Cambodia in the past 2 months. According to the WHO, the latest laboratory results indicate that “a significant proportion of the samples tested positive for Enterovirus 71 (EV-71), which causes hand foot and mouth disease”.

As of 5 July, EU Member States and neighbouring countries have not reported any human cases of West Nile fever for the 2012 transmission season, states this week’s update of West Nile fever maps.

An outbreak of an undiagnosed illness affecting children has been reported by the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia to World Health Organisation (WHO). Out of the 62 children, 61 have died. No apparent clustering of cases or signs of transmission have been reported so far.

On 22 June 2012, a case of locally acquired malaria infection was reported in Greece. The case is a 78 year old Greek citizen who presumably acquired the infection close to Marathon, Attica region.

ECDC starts publishing today the West Nile fever maps for the 2012 transmission season.

The reported national influenza trends indicate that the influenza season is coming to its end in Europe, highlights the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview for Week 19.

ECDC, through the VBORNET network, publishes regularly on its website maps on exotic mosquitoes and on phlebetomines  - to provide the ECDC stakeholders and the general public with the most updated information on vector distribution. The maps are updated and improved quarterly.

The reported national influenza trends indicate that influenza season is coming to its end in Europe, highlights the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview for Week 18.

The latest European monthly measles monitoring shows that during the period 1 January to 28 February 2012, 1 447 cases of measles were reported by the 29 contributing EU and EEA countries. This number is considerably lower than the same two months  of 2011 (5 731 cases) and 2010 (5 752 cases).

Results of the 2nd ECDC/CNRL external quality assurance (EQA) scheme for influenza virus detection and culture show a high standard of influenza virus detection and typing maintained across influenza reference laboratories in EU/EEA countries.

During Week 18, 29 April – 5 May 2012, ECDC monitored the public health threats to the European Union (EU).

On the 9^th of May ECDC will celebrate ‘Europe Day’ which was proclaimed by Robert Schuman in 1950. To mark the occasion ECDC will participate with the European Commission, the European Parliament, Embassies of the European Union and candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU in an event in the centre of Stockholm.

WHO “SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands” is an annual campaign that makes part of major global effort to support healthcare workers to improve hand hygiene practices in healthcare settings, and thus support the prevention of often life-threatening healthcare-associated infections.

ECDC and the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) are jointly organising a conference to discuss doctors’ role in preventing childhood diseases, particularly measles, through vaccination.

Invasive mosquito species in Europe present a potential public health threat and their surveillance and control are essential, concludes an article published this week in the journal ‘Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases’, funded and co-authored by ECDC.

During Week 17, 22-28 April 2012, ECDC monitored the possible public health threats to citizens and residents in the European Union (EU).

Adjustments to surveillance practices in the EU will enhance preparedness and public health response to emerging infectious diseases, thereby helping to contain human and economic costs. These are the conclusions of an article published this week in Science magazine, describing a study co-authored by ECDC.

Coinciding with European Immunization Week, ECDC has issued a report highlighting the importance of building trust for public health organisations in order for them to communicate effectively on immunisation.

Since November 2011, Schmallenberg virus has been reported in cattle, sheep and goats in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Italy and more recently in Spain.

The reported national influenza trends indicate that seasonal influenza is on the decline all across Europe, highlight the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview for week 15.

The second EQA scheme for typing of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) was commissioned by ECDC and produced by Statens Serum Institut, Denmark. Forty-five laboratories of the Food- and Waterborne Diseases Network (FWD-Net) from 38 countries participated, of which 23 were from the EU/EEA countries.

This report identifies the relationships between meteorological and climate variables and six food- and waterborne pathogens, by reviewing existing literature, in order to assess the potential impacts of climate change on food- and waterborne disease transmission in the EU.

The latest European monthly measles monitoring shows that in January 2012, 584 cases of measles were reported by the 29 contributing EU and EEA countries. This number is considerably lower than for the same month in 2011 (2 289 cases) and 2010 (2 673 cases).

The reported national influenza trends indicate that the peaks of the epidemics have passed in a number of European countries, the latest edition of the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview highlights.

To help prevent antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Europe, the Danish EU Presidency invited ECDC to join a European conference held yesterday to "conclude common EU measures for combating antimicrobial resistance".

Since November 2011, Schmallenberg virus has been reported in cattle, sheep and goats in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Italy and more recently in Spain.

During Week 10 (4 to 10 March 2012), ECDC monitored two public health threats across the European Union (EU).

The national seasonal influenza trends are continuing to increase in a number of countries, although three countries are also reporting they have seen a peak in their epidemics. The season is still dominated by A(H3) viruses, but B viruses seem to be on the increase recently as reported in the latest edition of the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview (week 9/2012).

During Week 9, 26 February to 3 March 2012, ECDC monitored two public health threats across the European Union (EU).

The national influenza season epidemics in Europe are continuing upwards in a number of countries although they have peaked in at least two countries that were affected early. The epidemics remain dominated by A(H3) viruses, but B viruses seem to be become more important. This is reported in the latest edition of the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview (week 8/2012).

On the 29 February 2012 ECDC published its risk assessment on research taking place on laboratory-created A(H5N1) viruses transmissible between ferrets. The risk assessment summarises and explains the complex interlocking public health and scientific issues around these developments including the pros and the cons of some of the responses that have been proposed internationally.

ECDC published today the operating procedures of the European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet).

The latest European Monthly Measles Monitoring (EMMO) provides analyses of last year's measles surveillance data. In 2011, 30,567 cases of measles were reported by 29 European countries, roughly same number of cases last year but a four-fold increase compared to 2009 (7 175). Only two countries in Europe remained measles-free in 2011, Iceland and Cyprus.

ECDC issues a rapid risk assessment on the cluster of travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease occurred over a two months period in a hotel in Calpe, Spain.

Influenza activity was widespread in four countries in week 4 and present or increasing in the rest of Europe. The subtype A(H3N2) is dominating the season to date but A(H1) and B viruses are also present. This is reported in the latest edition of the ECDC Weekly influenza surveillance report (WISO).

Schmallenberg virus is a newly recognised Orthobunyavirus that was first detected in November 2011 in cattle in the Netherlands and Germany. As of 25 January, the disease has been detected in cattle, sheep and goats in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and more recently in sheep in the United Kingdom.

ECDC consultation brought together experts to discuss the malaria transmission risk in Europe and propose preventive actions.

According to the WISO published today, influenza is slowly progressing across Europe and is currently dominated by A(H3N2) viruses.

During week 52/2011 (26 Dec 2011 - 1 Jan 2012) the annual seasonal influenza began in some countries in Europe though intensity remains low as yet in all countries reporting.

During week 50/2011 (12 - 18 December 2011), low influenza activity was notified by all 29 countries reporting: Read the Weekly influenza surveillance overview, week 50/2011.

The latest edition of the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report shows that Europe is still reporting low influenza activity. ECDC has been monitoring the patterns of human influenza infection in the southern hemisphere countries in their winters as well as our own experience in Europe of last season as this gives some indication of what can be expected in the following northern hemisphere winter.

ECDC published November European monthly measles monitoring report (EMMO). The report highlights that the measles epidemic in Europe continues.

The latest Weekly influenza surveillance overview (WISO) shows that Europe is still reporting low influenza activity. Eight weeks after the beginning of the surveillance season for influenza in the Northern Hemisphere, there has been no evidence of sustained transmission in EU/EAA countries, but more influenza viruses are being detected.

Marking World AIDS Day 2011, ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe release today their joint publication HIV/AIDS surveillance in Europe 2010. The new data raises concern about the continuing transmission of HIV in Europe, as newly diagnosed HIV infections are still on the increase.

CDC has reported recent infections in children in North America with a swine-origin triple reassortant influenza A(H3N2) virus that includes a genetic component from the pandemic 2009 virus, and with probable human-to-human transmission with these viruses.

The latest Weekly influenza surveillance overview (WISO) shows low influenza activity in Europe. For the first time this season local spread was reported by the Netherlands, while the majority of countries reported absence of geographic spread.

On the 22 November 2011, ECDC organised a workshop at the European Parliament to provide policy makers with more information on the facts about seasonal influenza vaccination and on ECDC’s contributions to the implementation of the 2009 Council Recommendation on this subject. 

During week 45 (7-13 November 2011), all 28 countries providing data to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) database reported low influenza activity.

ECDC publishes weekly West Nile fever maps, based on information provided by the health authorities across Europe, with the objective to inform the national competent authorities about WNV affected areas.

While Europe is still experiencing low influenza activity according to the ECDC’s Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview (WISO) published today, an article presenting surveillance data for the last season (2010/11) in Greece has been published in Eurosurveillance.

In week 42 (17–23 October 2011), all countries providing data to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) database reported low influenza activity.

ESCAIDE, which is organised and financially supported by ECDC, is less than two weeks away.

Since the last European monthly measles monitoring report (EMMO) published on 16 September, nearly 800 new measles cases were detected in the EU and EEA/EFTA countries. This brings the total number of cases in 2011 to more than 29 100.

Today, ECDC issues the first weekly edition of the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview (WISO) for the current surveillance season.

Greece has reported thirty-six cases of Plasmodium vivax infection in 2011 to date, 20 of which have been in Greek citizens without travel to an endemic country. Over eighty percent in are are associated with the area around Evrotas - in Lakonia. The risk for further extension of malaria into the EU is considered low at present; the main risk is related to persons living in the affected areas of Greece, concludes ECDC risk assessment issued today.

The 2011 seasonal influenza immunisation campaigns have started across Europe.  As in previous years ECDC is marking the start of the 2011-12 surveillance season in Week 40 with the publication of regular weekly updates of the main epidemiological and virological developments in the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview (WISO).

In an editorial in the scientific journal Eurosurveillance, ECDC noted that, based on numerous studies, paediatricians, family practitioners and nurses form the backbone of each national immunisation programme in the EU.

At a special joint session combining experts from the National Microbiology Focal Points and ECDC's Advisory Forum, ECDC Director, Dr. Marc Sprenger, set out his vision for the agency’s role in strengthening public health microbiology across Europe: 'By 2016, ECDC will foster the development and facilitate the operation of an efficient public health microbiology system capable of providing timely and reliable information for infectious disease prevention and control at Member State and EU levels'.

ECDC publishes a rapid risk assessment on the epidemiological situation of West Nile virus infection in the European Union. In the ongoing 2011 West Nile virus transmission season, cases have been reported from newly affected geographical areas. 86 human cases of West Nile fever have been reported in the EU, with 74 cases in Greece, eight in Romania, and four cases in Italy. In the neighbouring countries, 125 cases have been declared.

The WHO Regional Committee for Europe approved a new action plan to tackle multi-drug resistant and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (M/XDR-TB) today. This is another milestone in the European efforts to secure strong tuberculosis prevention and control across the region.

Starting 15 September 2011, ECDC will be coordinating the former EUVAC.NET network. It is a surveillance network covering measles, mumps, rubella, congenital rubella, pertussis and varicella EU Member States and three countries of the European Economic Area. Data will be hosted by the European Surveillance System (TESSy) at ECDC.

Australia has reported oseltamivir resistance of A(H1N1)2009 influenza virus in the state of New South Wales,  with assumed person-to-person transmission of the resistant strain. The European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has produced a rapid risk assessment to assess the situation.

A new meeting report is now available on the ECDC website. The report covers health communication strategies that could be undertaken to better promote influenza prevention measures and the healthcare professionals’ role in the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination.

With the publication of two new reports ECDC further develops its evidence on migrant health: ‘Improving HIV data comparability in migrant populations and ethnic minorities’ and ‘Migrant health: HIV testing and counselling in migrant populations and ethnic minorities in EU/EEA/EFTA countries’.

ECDC publishes its technical document on influenza virus characterisation. Since the last influenza virus characterisation report, 250 virus specimens collected from February to June 2011 have been received from EU and EU-affiliated countries.

A group of international experts came together by a joint initiative by ECDC and CDC, to create a standardised international terminology to describe and classify resistant bacteria.

ECDC has issued a risk assessment on cholera transmission related to travel to the Dominican Republic after two cases have been detected in tourists returning to the UK and Germany from resorts in the Punta Cana area of the Dominican Republic.

ECDC commissioned a multinational case-control study to assess the association between adjuvanted pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 vaccine and GBS. The results show that the risk of occurrence of GBS is not increased after vaccination with adjuvanted influenza pandemic vaccine.

The report indicates that resistance to antimicrobials was observed in zoonotic bacteria, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, which may cause infectious diseases transmissible between animals and humans and which can be found in foods.

During the Informal Meeting of Ministers of Health, 5-6th July, ECDC Director Marc Sprenger gives a speech presenting evidence of health inequalities in the EU, as well as several options for intervention.

On Friday 24 June, France reported a cluster of eight patients with bloody diarrhoea, after having participated in an event in the commune of Bègles around Bordeaux on 8 June. Of these, seven have developed HUS, a severe complication of E. coli infection. In three of the patients, infection with E. coli O104:H4 has been confirmed.

Mass gathering events represent a risk for the spread of communicable diseases. ECDC is stressing the importance for European Union citizens planning to attend these events to be vaccinated against infectious diseases especially measles.

European Union countries face the challenge of how to best allocate limited resources in healthcare protection and disease prevention to achieve maximum results. Measurement of the burden of diseases provides important evidence for health policy formulation. The freshly released Methodology Protocol outlines the methods for measuring the current and future burden of communicable diseases in the EU and EEA/EFTA countries.

ECDC is mandated to communicate directly with the European public on current and emerging threats to human health posed by infectious diseases. As part of this work - and to further establish the centre as a leading authority in the field – we are now launching a new corporate brochure targeted the European public, describing ECDC’s activities and goals.

Public health situation, in particular to communicable diseases, and recommended actions, following the increased migration at the Greek–Turkish border, are the highlights in a new ECDC/WHO joint mission report.

The call for abstracts for ESCAIDE 2011 (European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology) is now open and will close on 8 July 2011.

ECDC and WHO Europe jointly release “MESSAGE - MEaSles and rubella Self Assessment GEnerating tool” for public health experts, to facilitate assessment of the progress made towards measles and rubella elimination.

ECDC Director Marc Sprenger at the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) stresses the importance of the EU’s continuous commitment in the fight against hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

In support of "European Immunization Week" on 23-30 April, ECDC together with European countries and WHO Europe will participate in the sixth European Immunization Week.

Today, the impact of vaccines on Public Health is at the centre of the discussions in the conference organised by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) in Prague. This conference brought together experts to debate the many-sided correlations between vaccines, medicine and society at the dawn of the third millennium.

ECDC Director Marc Sprenger and WHO/Europe Regional Director Zsuzsanna Jakab have signed an Administrative Agreement between ECDC and WHO/Europe during the 8th Senior Officials Meeting of the European Commission (EC) and World Health Organisation (WHO), held in Brussels on 24-25 March 2011.

To mark World AIDS Day on 1 December, ECDC launches a set of guidance documents on HIV testing and the report on HIV/AIDS surveillance in Europe. All documents will be presented by ECDC Director Marc Sprenger during a scientific seminar at the European Parliament in Brussels.

On the occasion of the European Antibiotic Awareness Day, ECDC is releasing new European-wide surveillance data on antibiotic resistance from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net).
EAAD Multimedia News release

Representatives of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will visit the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on Wednesday, 24 November.

Communication strategies which recognize that health literacy is context and content specific are essential to approach a diverse Europe. This was one of the main conclusions drawn from the ECDC`s workshop at the 3rd European Public Health Conference (EUPHA) in Amsterdam.

ECDC invites scientists with relevant expertise to apply to participate in ECDC’s scientific panels and working groups and assist the Centre in its activities.

ECDC presents its most recent guidance on public health management of sporadic cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). The purpose of this document is to provide evidence-based guidance for good practice in public health management of sporadic cases of meningococcal disease and their contacts.

ECDC’s latest publication delivers a host of information on the Centre’s work on disease threats: the all-new ‘Annual Threat Report – 2009’ describes in detail and supported by statistical data how epidemic intelligence officers at ECDC responded to the 192 distinct threats monitored in 2009.

Experts from EU Member states can now register for two new training events organised by ECDC: a one-day workshop on “outbreak investigation reports” and a one-week training course “Managerial aspects of outbreak investigations”.

On Tuesday August 10, 2010, following advice from the International Health Regulation Emergency Committee the WHO Director General declared that the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 has entered the post pandemic phase.

This advice was based on a review of the current epidemiological situation indicating that influenza activity worldwide has returned to levels that are normally seen for seasonal influenza.

European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli visited ECDC on 22 June 2010. The programme of the Commissioner’s visit included presentations of the ECDC’s added value and areas where ECDC is making a difference, as well as a tour of its Emergency Operations Centre. Photo: Commissioner Dalli (left) with ECDC Director Marc Sprenger.

During the Annual Meeting of the European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN), participants concluded that based on “countries’ experiences, systems installed prior to a crisis are easier to activate and are more effective during the actual event.”

Although typically a mild and self-limiting disease, Q fever can cause severe complications. A panel of experts reviewed the best available evidence in order to address issues related to chronic Q fever, transmission through blood transfusion, and risks during pregnancy.

This risk assessment was carried out at the request of the European Commission, and in collaboration with the European Food Safety Authority.

Dr Marc Sprenger has been appointed to lead the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Dr Sprenger was Director-General of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands. He took up his post as Director of the Stockholm based EU agency on 1 May for a period of 5 years.
Figure: Marc Sprenger (left) and Karl Ekdahl (right)

In the context of European Immunisation Week (24 April – 1 May) ECDC highlights the importance of vaccines as a powerful tool to protect our health. The “Spotlight Immunisation” guides readers through the achievements of vaccination programmes in Europe.

ECDC has launched a new programme to train public health microbiologists known as EUPHEM. Applicants are invited to apply for a fellow position for EUPHEM Cohort 3. The deadline is on 25 April 2010.

ECDC, jointly with WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Commission, has published a set of pandemic preparedness indicators.

Applications are invited for the European Network for sexually transmitted infection (STI) Surveillance microbiology training course on bacterial STI laboratory methods. The one week course will be delivered on 7 – 11 June 2010 by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in London, United Kingdom. Deadline for registration: 20 April 2010.

Following the kick-off meeting in September 2009, VBORNET started its activities. VBORNET is a network of medical entomologists and public health experts, funded by ECDC. Its aim is to support ECDC activities in terms of arthropod vector surveillance within the European Union and consequently to improve preparedness towards vector-borne diseases.

Eurovaccine 2009, the first European conference on vaccination and immunisation organised and fully funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was held in Stockholm, Sweden, on 11 December 2009.

At the EPSCO Council in Brussels on 1 December ECDC Director Zsuzsanna Jakab gave EU health ministers an update on the state of the (H1N1) influenza pandemic in the European Union. 

 See her presentation

The course will be delivered from 15th February to 5th March 2010 in France and will cover the following topics: surveillance, outbreak investigation, survey, analytical epidemiology  and communication.

The target audience for the course are persons involved in field epidemiology activities at national or regional level in the European Union, EU candidate countries and the EEA/EFTA countries. The deadline for registration is December 6, 2009 at 23:00 CET.

Nearly 26 000 HIV cases were diagnosed in 2008 and reported by 27 of 30 countries in the European Union and EEA/EFTA countries, a rate of 61 per million population. The rate has increased by 37% since 2000. In EU/EFTA, the predominant mode of transmission is sex among men who have sex with men (40%) followed by heterosexual contact (29%). Injecting drug use accounts for 6% of HIV cases in 2008.

Read the report
World AIDS Day special page
Watch the video

European Antibiotic Awareness Day emphasises the need for people to take antibiotics only with a doctor’s prescription and as prescribed in order to maximise their effects and prevent the emergence of resistant bacteria. In 2009, European Antibiotics Awareness Day focuses on the role of primary care prescribers in promoting appropriate use of antibiotics in outpatients, with particular attention on respiratory tract infections such as common colds and flu.

See the multimedia news release
Read Zsuzsanna Jakab’s  (ECDC Director) presentation
Read Prof. Otto Cars’ (STRAMA) presentation

The third annual report on the epidemiology of 47 communicable diseases and two health issues across the European Union and European Economic Area has been published.

The result of a collective effort by 30 countries, it presents a comprehensive overview of the data from 2007 in standard tables and graphs, together with an analysis of the health threats monitored by ECDC during 2008.

In the context of the current pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009, disease surveillance based on reporting of the number of cases has become unsustainable in some of the most heavily affected countries as numbers rise exponentially.

In response, and together with the EU/EEA Member States and WHO, ECDC has developed plans for how Europe can maintain a minimum level of surveillance of the influenza (H1N1) 2009 during the expected autumn wave of the pandemic.

An inventory of what has been done by EU and EFTA countries regarding behavioural surveillance related to HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) in eight subpopulations has been published by ECDC.

The report is based on a survey conducted in EU/EFTA countries and results show impressive experience and considerable diversity in Europe, with 16 countries reporting having an established HIV/STI behavioural surveillance system.

ECDC has released an updated risk assessment of the pandemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009. The document points out that the virus will continue to transmit in a heterogeneous manner but at a low level over the summer in European countries and that it is likely that a proper first wave of the pandemic will take place in the autumn and winter.

The newly redesigned portal of the European Centre for Infectious Disease Control (ECDC) is now online.

The portal aims to provide more information on ECDC's activities to a broader audience including general public, governmental expert agencies, decision makers and journalists.

ECDC has created a new series of publications: a yearly compilation of executive summaries from its most important documents. The new series is targeted at policymakers and will be translated into all official EU languages, plus Icelandic and Norwegian. The first edition, Summary of key publications 2008, is a compilation of summaries from nine selected ECDC documents published in 2008. Highlights include short versions of the Framework action plan to fight tuberculosis in the European Union, the Annual epidemiological report on communicable diseases in Europe 2008 and the HIV/AIDS surveillance in Europe – 2007.

In late January 2008, antiviral drug susceptibility surveillance of seasonal influenza viruses was carried out in Europe (the EU-EEA-EFTA countries) by the EU-funded VIRGIL network. The National Influenza Centres revealed that some of the A (H1N1) viruses circulating this season (winter 2007-8) are resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir through mutation at position 274 in the viral neuraminidase gene.