Rotavirus gastroenteritis in Ireland is a quite common and unpleasant illness, but severe disease is unusual and death extremely rare. Nonetheless, rotavirus generates considerable direct and indirect costs.
Topics covered includeed: Human seasonal influenza programme planning; Surveillance systems and epidemiological studies; Laboratory issues; Human seasonal influenza policy; Vaccination; Targeting priority groups; Communication; Evaluation and research of human seasonal influenza and Action planning.
ECDC has organised the “Influenza Workshop Week” to support Member States and the European Commission in implementing the 2009 EU Council Recommendation on Seasonal Influenza Immunisation.
The 2011 seasonal influenza immunisation campaigns have started across Europe. As in previous years ECDC is marking the start of the 2011-12 surveillance season in Week 40 with the publication of regular weekly updates of the main epidemiological and virological developments in the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview (WISO).
At his annual hearing with the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, ECDC Director Marc Sprenger described the resurgence of measles in the EU as “one of the major events of this new decade”.
On 3 October 2011 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and representatives of the European Vaccine Manufacturers met at ECDC in Stockholm for a regular scheduled meeting about the use of vaccines for prevention of seasonal and pandemic influenza. ECDC Director Marc Sprenger opened the meeting and ECDC influenza experts held different presentations, such as burden of influenza disease in the EU, risk groups for severe influenza disease, personal protective measures, pandemic influenza preparedness, seasonal influenza vaccines, communication.
The Declarations of Interest for ECDC Influenza Staff and the ECDC Director are available here under ECDC Transparency.
In an editorial in the scientific journal Eurosurveillance, ECDC noted that, based on numerous studies, paediatricians, family practitioners and nurses form the backbone of each national immunisation programme in the EU.
Two official evaluations have been made by the national Ministry of Health of Spain of their country’s response to the 2009 influenza pandemic. The reviews focused on two particular topics - Surveillance and Vaccines and Antivirals.
The authors describe the epidemiology of invasive Hib and nontype b H. influenzae infections in children <15 years of age in the United Kingdom from 1994 until 2008, and show that the resurgence in Hib disease during the years 1999-2003 did not affect the epidemiology of invasive nontype b H. influenzae disease in children, which provides further support against serotype replacement.