ECDC visits Kosovo* to discuss its communicable disease surveillance system
From 5 to 7 March 2025, a technical team from ECDC visited Kosovo to discuss the country’s communicable disease surveillance system. The two-day visit brought together ECDC experts and senior officials from Kosovo’s Ministry of Health and national public health institute to assess current practices and explore opportunities for improvement.
ECDC’s team of surveillance experts worked closely with local experts involved in surveillance activities, such as data management, data analysis, microbiology, and outbreak detection to review Kosovo’s approach to the surveillance of infectious diseases.
Objectives of the visit
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of the existing structures, systems, tools and processes used for national surveillance of communicable diseases including any planned changes.
- Assess needs, strengths andvulnerabilities , identifying areas for improvement and potential opportunities, requiring technical support from ECDC.
- Document the current state of surveillance, outlining strengths, vulnerabilities and specific needs, and develop possible actions plans.
- Discuss and establish next steps,setting priorities for future surveillance activities where ECDC can provide technical guidance and assistance.
The visit included discussions and technical sessions to demonstrate Kosovo’s surveillance system.
The first day included a presentation by ECDC on the surveillance of infectious diseases at the EU/EEA level and ongoing efforts to strengthen surveillance in the Western Balkans. This was followed by one session on the country’s infectious disease surveillance system and one on the legislative framework for communicable diseases, led by representatives from the Ministry of Health. Later discussions focused on data collection, quality and management, as well as the evaluation of influenza-like illness (ILI), acute respiratory infections (ARI), and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI).
On the second day, discussions focused on data analysis, with a case study on weekly COVID-19 reporting. Other sessions covered the dissemination and communication of communicable disease surveillance data, outbreak detection and disease reporting to ECDC.
A key highlight of the visit was a hands-on training session on the updated EpiPulse reporting platform, designed to enhance technical capacity and ensure that Kosovo’s surveillance systems align with evolving European standards.
The collaborative discussions highlighted several areas where further technical support could strengthen Kosovo’s preparedness to address cross-border health threats. Participants agreed on the importance of ongoing cooperation and information exchange to continuously improve surveillance practices.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Background
Kosovo has been participating in selected ECDC surveillance activities since 2017, reporting data on a subset of diseases to EpiPulse cases (formerly TESSy) and events to EpiPulse events.
