Since 2009, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has coordinated the enhanced surveillance of sexually transmitted infections in Europe.

Thirty-five laboratories of the Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses Network (FWD-Net), among them 28 from EU/EEA countries, participated in the second international external quality assurance (EQA) scheme for the typing of Salmonella.

This report presents the results of the 2010 EQA exercise that assessed the capabilities of diagnosing diphtheria in 28 reference laboratories across Europe. Participating centres were asked to complete a questionnaire and identify six simulated throat specimens.

This report presents antimicrobial resistance data reported to EARS-Net by 28 countries for 2010 with trend analyses for the period 2007-2010. This edition also includes a focus chapter on carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa.

The third external quality assurance scheme for Salmonella typing, launched in November 2010, assessed whether typing of Salmonella strains by different laboratories within and outside the European Union was carried out uniformly and whether comparable results could be obtained.

This report presents the results of the second round of the external quality assurance scheme for typing of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli.

In 2010, 21 EU/EEA Member States participated in the European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (Euro-GASP), testing a total of 1766 isolates.