Scientific excellence

Enhanced surveillance reports were published for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS jointly with WHO Europe. Annual epidemiological reports were published for hepatitis B and C and for tuberculosis. For hepatitis, ECDC worked on improving the data for surveillance and monitoring by implementing several projects such as conducting sero-prevalence surveys. ECDC also evaluated the use and usefulness of the hepatitis online prevalence database.

Jointly with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA), ECDC published the third report on the Joint Interagency Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance Analysis (JIACRA). Work on the first ECDC-WHO Europe joint report on AMR surveillance in Europe took place throughout 2021 and the report was published on 26 January 2022.

In 2021 Eurosurveillance celebrated its 25th anniversary and its editors conducted a comprehensive campaign showcasing ’25 years of public health impact’. This campaign encompassed a dedicated page with a special collection, and links to presentations and videos illustrating the journey, achievements, and impact of the journal in the past and present. The virtual anniversary seminar during the ESCAIDE conference was dedicated to ‘Epidemiology and immunology –from observation to explanation and public health action’. Renowned international speakers covered aspects of influenza, measles, and COVID-19, and nearly 600 participants followed live. Eurosurveillance continued to rank among the leading journals in its field. It was awarded an Impact Factor of 6.3 (6.4 in 2020). This placed the journal among the ‘Top 10’ of infectious disease journals for the 10th consecutive year.

An ECDC knowledge management framework was developed during 2021, including proposals for the development of communities of practice, and the revision of the ECDC website to improve the findability of guidance, advice and information. The framework will facilitate the management of strategic ECDC knowledge sets. Work progressed as well on putting mechanisms in place to support knowledge sharing through structured conversation/dialogue (both internally and with external parties).