EU-AH1N1 influenza – recent ECDC publications 15.05.2009
The European Centre for Disease control has issued recently a number of publications related to the AH1N1 influenza outbreak.
As well as daily Situation Reports the following have been published. They are being constantly kept under review and will be amended as necessary as the situation evolves.
Frequently asked questions on influenza virus A(H1N1)
Personal protective measures for reducing the risk of acquiring or transmitting human influenza
Current pandemic threat assessment
ECDC short-term guidance on public health case and contact management for influenza A(H1N1)
Lessons from previous pandemics
Influenza A(H1N1): how to protect yourself
Meeting report: Technical meeting on hepatitis A outbreak response
Hepatitis A remains highly endemic worldwide. Global travel will continue to present added opportunities for introduction of infection to non-immune populations in the EU. Thus effective outbreak control measures combined with a preventive approach will be important in reducing the possible impact of sporadic outbreaks in the EU.
During a meeting in Riga, Latvia, in November 2008, scientists from several EU countries discussed various technical aspects of hepatitis A, such as control options for outbreak situations and vaccination strategies. Participants were particularly interested in identifying the relative effectiveness of different vaccination strategies in controlling outbreaks and the cost-effectiveness of vaccination options compared to general measures.
Possible target readership: public health officials: experts in the field of infectious diseases, epidemiology, infection control, vaccination.
Meeting report: Consultation of the ECDC Competent Bodies for Preparedness and Response
The Competent Bodies (CBs) are ECDC’s primary points of contact when looking for scientific expertise in the Member States. During the October 2008 meeting of ECDC’s CBs for Preparedness, the discussion mainly focused on ECDC’s role in generic preparedness. While the Health Security Committee addresses generic preparedness in the EU, ECDC has an important role in providing technical support to the work of the Health Security Committee and supporting Member States with specific elements of generic preparedness plans.
In a separate session, the CBs for Response reviewed the latest version of a document on ‘Guiding principles for response’. They also discussed some of ECDC’s response activities, e.g. EU-level threat assessments following EWRS event notifications.
Possible target readership: public health officials, experts in preparedness and response, meeting participants.
