ECDC concludes training on contact tracing and Go.Data
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) recently concluded a comprehensive two-day training designed to enhance regional capabilities in outbreak investigation and contact tracing.
On 4 and 5 June 2024, a wide range of representatives from public health authorities across the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries convened at ECDC’s premises in Stockholm, Sweden. The training was hosted and funded by ECDC and led in collaboration with WHO under the EU Initiative on Health Security work package 2, which aims to strengthen partner countries' capacities to effectively assess, detect, respond, and prevent threats from communicable diseases and enhance regional cooperation.
The training included a combination of presentations and group activities designed to provide hands-on experience in managing case and contact data, essential for controlling the spread of infectious diseases.
The first day began with an introduction to contact tracing and outbreak investigation. Participants shared their countries’ experiences and discussed challenges and best practices in contact tracing. Attendees were introduced to the functionalities of the Go.Data outbreak investigation tool, a free and open-source platform for the collection and management of a large amount of data, including cases, contacts, laboratory and other clinical and epidemiological information during an outbreak response.
The second day featured advanced sessions on creating and managing relationships between cases and events in an active outbreak. Participants also learned how to generate follow-up lists and conduct daily follow-ups, which are crucial for effective contact tracing. The training concluded with a session on managing exposures and data visualisation, followed by a final discussion and wrap-up.
This initiative highlights ECDC and the EU Initiative on Health Security’s commitment to strengthening public health systems by equipping professionals with the necessary tools and knowledge to respond to cross-border health security threats. This ongoing collaboration between ECDC and WHO underscores the added value of international cooperation in institutionalizing and digitalization of contact tracing with the long-term aim of building resilient public health systems.
Participants left the training with enhanced skills in outbreak investigation and contact tracing, ready to apply and share their new knowledge in their respective countries.
