Surveillance for seasonal influenza
ECDC collects epidemiological and virological data from the EU/EEA Member States. The surveillance data reported comes largely from sentinel influenza surveillance systems, which cover a subset of the population in each country. Some countries conduct universal influenza surveillance, meaning that all cases meeting the relevant case definition are reported. Several countries also conduct surveillance of hospitalised cases. A sample of cases is also tested to determine virus characteristics.
The weekly surveillance of seasonal influenza is complemented by epidemic intelligence activities at ECDC, which encompass monitoring of official and unofficial sources on outbreaks and other influenza-related developments.
See the latest surveillance data
Surveillance reports and protocols
ECDC’s influenza virus characterisation reports are published periodically and give an overview of circulating influenza viruses. They provide details on the current vaccine strains, summarise the development of the viruses since the last report, and closely follow the main developments for the ongoing influenza season.
This infographic summarises the situation in the EU Member States. It is published weekly during the influenza season.
Technical guidance
Reporting protocols provide guidelines on how to prepare data for submission to The European Surveillance System (TESSy). All pertinent deadlines are listed, and recent changes to the metadata summarised. The following reporting protocols are relevant for the reporting of seasonal influenza:
Reporting protocols
Archive
ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe jointly published the Flu News Europe bulletin on the influenza situation in the wider European Region during the influenza transmission season from 2014 to 2023.
The Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview (WISO) was published from the start of the 2009–10 season until the start of the 2014–15 season.
The Weekly Electronic Bulletin was written by the European Influenza Surveillance Scheme Co-ordination Centre from the 2003–04 to the 2008–09 season. If you like to read the weekly electronic bulletins, please get in contact with webmaster@ecdc.europa.eu.
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Related content
EU case definitions
Case definitions for each infectious disease covered by EU surveillance, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN)
The network combines epidemiological and virological surveillance of influenza.