This edition of the Annual Epidemiological Report on Communicable Diseases in Europe provides a comprehensive summary of surveillance data for 2008.
Despite a reduction in the incidence of some of the diseases under surveillance, the data presented show that several problems remain. Among those of the most concern are antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections; sexually transmitted infections like HIV and chlamydia; and respiratory tract infections. The priorities for communicable disease prevention and control have therefore not changed substantially over recent years.