Expert consultation on guidelines for surveillance of invasive mosquitoArchived

Objective of the consultation

EDCC launched a tender to produce guidelines to assist Member States to implement invasive mosquito vector surveillance and improve coverage and harmonization of data collection within the EU. The guidelines should provide evidence-based guidance and technical support for health policy makers and professionals involved in implementing invasive mosquito monitoring in EU Member States and EEA/EFTA countries.

The main objective of the consultation was to review the draft guidelines for a harmonized surveillance of invasive mosquitoes of public health interest by a panel of experts and potential users. The document should provide a comprehensive and practical guide to assist Member States to implement invasive mosquito surveillance.

The specific objectives included:

• Revision of accurate description of surveillance approaches, and appropriate technical support for an easy implementation;
• Revision of the cost/benefit evaluation of different surveillance procedures according to scale (local/national) and risk (i.e. mosquito importation/spread and pathogen transmission);
• Evaluation of the potential of the guidelines as reference document for comprehensive and harmonized invasive mosquitoes surveillance at EU level.

Meeting attendees tested the guidelines through scenarios in working groups to evaluate the soundness of the document and identified points to be improved. A questionnaire helped to address different aspects of the evaluation. Comments from the working groups as well as issues raised from reviews prior to meeting was discussed, highlighting management and entomological issues. Recommendations for improvement of the guidelines was summarized in the meeting report available on ECDC website.