EU case definitions
European Union (EU) case definitions provide standardised criteria for identifying and reporting communicable diseases to ECDC. These definitions only apply to surveillance at the EU/EEA level and ensure that every case in every Member State is classified similarly, which is essential for accurate and consistent disease surveillance across borders.
These definitions are set out in the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/945, which lists the diseases and health issues under EU surveillance.
However, for some diseases, especially emerging threats such as COVID-19 or mpox, the EU legislation has not been updated yet, and ECDC, therefore, uses its own operational case definitions. These are tailored to effectively respond to new public health challenges and are regularly updated to reflect the latest scientific knowledge and surveillance needs.
Diseases
(COVID-19)
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, variant (vCJD)
Infections with haemophilus influenza group B
Influenza including Influenza A(H1N1)
Invasive meningococcal disease
Meningococcal disease, invasive
Pneumoccocal invasive diseases
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Shiga toxin /verocytotoxin -producing Escherichia coli (STEC/VTEC)
Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers
Zika virus disease, congenital
Special health issues
Disclaimer: The terminology used in the list above is based on the terminology used in the case definitions. Hence, the terminology may differ from the one in the Commission Implementing Decision on the communicable diseases and related special health issues to be covered by epidemiological surveillance – Annex 1 (replacing Commission Decision No 2000/96/EC).