On 19-21 February 2018 the World Health Organization (WHO) agreed on the recommended composition of the trivalent influenza vaccine for the northern hemisphere 2018-2019 influenza season.
Influenza vaccination coverage among high-risk groups has dropped in the European Region over the last seven years, and half the countries report a decrease in the number of vaccine doses available.
This practical course will cover outbreak investigation, pandemic planning, recent developments in respiratory pathogen biology and therapy, and will focus around two practical scenarios in which participants will gain experience in managing an acute epidemic. Research during an epidemic and ethical aspects will also be covered.
Location:Amsterdam, Netherlands
Organized by:The course is co-organised by ECDC and European Respiratory Society.
ECDC monitors and reports on influenza transmission and virus circulation in Europe on a weekly basis throughout the flu season, in collaboration with WHO Regional Office for Europe, in the report Flu News Europe.
WHO/Europe launched the Flu Awareness Campaign initiative in 2013 as an extension of European Immunization Week. The Campaign aims at increasing uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination in risk groups.
On 4 October 2017, Italy reported through the Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) the detection of four Plasmodium falciparum malaria cases in the Apulia region. Cases are 21 to 37-year-old men, originally from Africa. All stated that they had been in Italy for more than three months. Dates for onset of symptoms ranged from 20 to 27 September 2017. The cases are agricultural workers in Ginosa and Castellaneta. Malaria vectors such as Anopheles labranchiae and Anopheles superpictus are present in Italy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the composition of the trivalent influenza vaccine for the southern hemisphere winter 2018 influenza season in a report published 28 September 2017.