In a concerted effort to combat healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Belgian EU Presidency on 6-7 May co-hosted a conference at the national public health institute of Belgium, Sciensano, in Brussels.
ECDC regularly assesses new evidence on variants detected through epidemic intelligence, rules-based genomic variant screening or other scientific sources.
Pertussis is an endemic disease in the EU/EEA and worldwide. Every three to five years, larger epidemics are expected even with high vaccination coverage.
Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV activity in EU/EEA Member States continue to decrease or remain stable at low levels. Cases, including severe infections, can still occur and it therefore remains essential to continue testing patients presenting with severe acute respiratory symptoms in order to guide treatment and inform epidemiological assessments.