When people with infectious tuberculosis (TB) cough, sneeze or otherwise exhale droplets, they expose others to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. After a person is exposed, they can be infected with M. tuberculosis without having TB disease and without signs and symptoms. This is called latent TB infection (LTBI).
The joint annual influenza surveillance meeting by ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe took place on 6 - 8 June 2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Invited participants were epidemiological and virological surveillance experts nominated by national health authorities as well as representatives from international institutions, covering the 53 countries of the EU/EEA and the WHO European region. The meeting was by invitation only.
The meeting focused on the evidence base for the revision of the updated “Guide to public health measures to reduce the impact of influenza pandemics in Europe”, with a specific emphasis on non-pharmaceutical countermeasures for pandemic flu.
The ECDC Calculator- LTBI control in European countries is an Excel tool based on a tuberculosis transmission model with the purpose to assess different screening strategies for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).
This tool uses data from four pilot countries to estimate annual tuberculosis incidence and to predict the costs and effect of different LTBI screening strategies over a 20-year period.
Influenza pandemics, whether mild, moderate or severe, affect a large proportion of the population and require a multisectoral response over several months or even years. For this reason, countries develop plans describing their strategies for responding to a pandemic supported by operational plans at national and subnational levels.
ECDC Scientific advice provides a summary of data and information (i.e., primary evidence) to support informed decisions and actions at the Union and country level in relation to public health measures to prevent and/or control communicable diseases.
ECDC’s annual surveillance reports provide a wealth of epidemiological data to support decision-making at the national level. They are mainly intended for public health professionals and policymakers involved in disease prevention and control programmes.
The ERLI-Net sub-network of reference laboratories of the European Influenza Surveillance Network carries out virological surveillance of human influenza in the EU/EEA through the EISN timely reporting mechanism and strengthening laboratory capacity for influenza virus detection, antiviral susceptibility testing and typing.
The main objectives of ERLI-Net are to carry out virological surveillance of human influenza and to ensure that data are shared through the European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN) reporting mechanisms in a timely manner.