ECDC Director to the Informal Health Council on EHEC/STEC outbreak: Strengthen EU cooperation against epidemics essentialArchived
In his speech to the Informal Health Council on 5th July, ECDC Director Marc Sprenger outlined the lessons learnt from the EHEC/STEC outbreak in EU, as well as the need to strengthen EU cooperation against epidemics.
In his speech to the Informal Health Council on 5th July, ECDC Director Marc Sprenger outlined the lessons learnt from the EHEC/STEC outbreak in EU.
The EU played a crucial role during the outbreak: the microbiology networks, such as ECDC’s Food and Water Borne Disease network, strongly contributed analysing the bacterium and disseminated guidance on laboratory tests to confirm infection. Furthermore, a good EU level cooperation helped national investigations, and clinical reference materials on treatment of patients were agreed at EU level.
“My positive ‘lesson learned’ is that the EU-wide cooperation system against epidemics has shown added value”, said Dr. Sprenger. “However, it can still be further improved”. In order to strengthen EU cooperation against epidemics, ECDC Director highlights the most important actions: Keep investing in EU microbiology networks, use temporary platforms for exchange of clinical information, foster cross-sectoral cooperation at all levels while keeping ‘one voice’ information to policy makers and citizens.
Last but not least, we should never forget that “What looks like a local outbreak can quickly become an EU-wide event”, concludes Dr. Sprenger.
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