The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) kindly invite you to join a webinar on West Nile virus and Usutu virus infections among humans and animals, with a focus on the situation in the European Union.
Smallpox was once a common, deadly disease, that killed a third of those who contracted it. 200 years ago, it was discovered that vaccination could prevent smallpox. Learn more about the fight against smallpox in our videos
Immunisation is the cornerstone of polio eradication. Two types of vaccine are available: an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and a live attenuated OPV.
The European public health and blood authorities responded to the threat posed by West Nile virus to blood safety of blood and blood components by adopting preventive measures which are defined in the EU blood legislation, professional guides of the Council of Europe and the EU WNV blood transfusion preparedness plan. The measures include the deferral of blood donors that have visited or residing in a NUTS 3 area considered to be affected (i.e. with at least one confirmed case).
ECDC promotes the performance of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes, in which laboratories are sent simulated clinical specimens or bacterial isolates for testing by routine or reference laboratory methods. EQA schemes, or laboratory proficiency testing, provide information about the accuracy of different characterisation and typing methods as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and the sensitivity of the methods in place to detect a certain pathogen or novel resistance patterns.