ECDC risk assessment: 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic (Update 17 December 2009)

This update of the ECDC pandemic risk assessment for Europe is based on data and analyses available in early December 2009. It draws on the experience in European countries, North America and the Southern Hemisphere’s temperate countries, which have already passed through a winter with the new virus. This description deals with the infection and the disease. Specifically, it does not include comments on the pharmaceutical countermeasures, nor their likely effectiveness and safety. These are dealt with separately in dedicated ECDC documents.