Smallpox was once a common, deadly disease, that killed a third of those who contracted it. 200 years ago, it was discovered that vaccination could prevent smallpox. Learn more about the fight against smallpox in our videos
Hantavirus infections are widely distributed across Europe, with the exception of some Mediterranean countries which reported a very low number of cases.
Childhood immunisation against S. pneumoniae is the most effective public health measure for preventing IPD both among vaccine recipients (direct effect), and among unimmunised populations (indirect ‘herd’ effect).
ECDC promotes the performance of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes, in which laboratories are sent simulated clinical specimens or bacterial isolates for testing by routine or reference laboratory methods. EQA schemes, or laboratory proficiency testing, provide information about the accuracy of different characterisation and typing methods as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and the sensitivity of the methods in place to detect a certain pathogen or novel resistance patterns.