The ISIRV (International Society for Influenza and other Respiratory Virus Diseases) Epidemiology Group and ECDC are holding an influenza epidemiology meeting at ECDC in Stockholm 16-18 January 2019.
Strong information systems to digitally record information about vaccination, Immunisation Information Systems (IIS), are an integral part of well-functioning vaccine programmes since they hold data both at the personal and population levels.
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).
Immunisation is the cornerstone of polio eradication. Two types of vaccine are available: an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and a live attenuated OPV.
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 European Commission had an ongoing open public consultation on ‘strengthened cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases’ which ran until 15 March 2018. The objective of this consultation was to collect the views and input of citizens, administrations, associations and other relevant organisations to feed into the process of drafting a proposal for a Council Recommendation to be adopted in mid-2018.
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.