European pandemic preparedness timeline, 2000-2012Archived
|
2000 and before |
1997: Emergence of A(H5N1) in domestic poultry and some humans in Hong Kong including limited human to human transmission: Individual pandemic plans in a few countries but unsynchronised and unstandardised 1998: European Council Decision No 2119/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 1998 setting up a network for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases in the Community. OJ L 268, 3.10.1998, p. 1–7. |
|
2001 |
Announcement of WHO global agenda on influenza and call for contributions WER (2001) 76: 251-3.
|
|
2002 |
WHO: Global agenda on influenza adopted version (Part I) WER (2002) 77: 179-182 (Part II) WER (2002) 77: 191-5. |
|
2004 |
Re-emergence of A(H5N1) viruses in birds and some humans in China and then parts of SE Asia (see WHO A(H5N1) timeline) |
|
June |
|
|
2005 |
|
|
March |
|
|
|
WHO publishes two seminal documents A Checklist for Pandemic Preparedness and a revised WHO Global Pandemic Preparedness Plan including interim guidance on Public Health Measures (Annex One) |
|
May |
Opening of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and adoption of pandemic preparedness as its first disease-specific priority. |
|
|
World Health Assembly adopts the new International Health Regulations which start to apply in June 2007 |
|
July / August |
Development of an initial procedure for assessing national pandemic preparedness assessment by ECDC with the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Commission. Following piloting with Sweden the first national assessments start with Greece, Kazakhstan, Turkey, United Kingdom and Ukraine (See listing of countries assessed) |
|
Autumn |
Appearance of A(H5N1) infected birds outside Asia and movement towards Europe engender an impression in the media, the public and some decision makers that an H5 pandemic is imminent. Many countries start acquiring stockpiles of antivirals |
|
October |
WHO Regional Office for Europe, European Commission, ECDC. Pandemic Preparedness Planning 2nd European Workshop, Copenhagen October 2005. |
|
November |
All EU / EEA countries, WHO and European pharmaceutical industry participate in the European Commission pandemic exercise Common Ground |
|
November |
European Commission publishes a Communication on pandemic influenza preparedness and response planning in the European Community along with a generic preparedness communication |
|
December |
Avian influenza and pandemic preparedness an emergency topic at the EU Health Council under the UK Presidency. By the end of the year three more ECDC and WHO Euro Country Assessments Undertaken TUR, KAZ and UKR |
|
2006 |
|
|
January to May |
Human outbreak of A(H5N1) in Turkey and Azerbaijan and appearance of infected wild birds in about half of the WHO European Region countries with some infected poultry but no human cases. |
|
April |
ECDC undertakes first EU survey of uptake of influenza vaccine in the elderly – only 18 countries can produce data and show 40 fold variation in uptake |
|
April |
Publication of a league table comparison of pandemic plans in Europe by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine |
|
May |
|
|
June |
Senior Officers International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza Meeting convened under the Austrian EU Presidency in Vienna |
|
June |
Appointment of a United Nations Systems Influenza Coordinator (UNSIC) Dr David Nabarro |
|
July |
Major revision of ECDC pandemic preparedness assessment procedure (Ref 8) |
|
September to November |
At request of Health Commissioner ECDC undertakes a survey of pandemic preparedness and holds three workshops with EU Member States to discuss the findings and prepare a progress report |
|
September |
Formation by European Commission of an EU Influenza Communicators Group under the Health Security Committee following meeting in Athens |
|
November |
WHO Regional Office for Europe holds the 6th regional workshop of the south-eastern European communicable disease surveillance project with a focus on avian and pandemic influenza (Belgrade, Serbia) |
|
December |
By the end of the year another 13 national self-assessments completed |
|
2007 |
|
|
January |
The issue of particularly developing countries sharing influenza viruses of pandemic potential with WHO through the GISN but not being in a position to afford pandemic influenza vaccine initiates a round of Intergovernmental Meetings, ultimately culminating in a framework endorsed by the World Health Assembly 64 (WHA64) in 2011. ECDC publishes its first review of pandemic preparedness in the EU, based on the status as of Autumn 2006. |
|
February |
ECDC publishes a 2006 Status Report on EU Pandemic Preparedness following a request from EU Health Commissioner Kyprianou. Finds all countries have made considerable progress but that much remains to be done: especially in the fields of local level preparedness, interoperability between countries and regions inside larger countries, research and multi-sectoral work. |
|
March |
ECDC publishes a revision of its pandemic preparedness assessment procedure with updated indicators on a pandemic preparedness site with a subsidiary site on pandemic preparedness assessment including the indicators. |
|
June |
2005 International Health Regulations come into force including for all European countries |
|
|
|
|
July |
UK and the European Commission hold a Pandemic Preparedness Workshop, London |
| August | ECDC publishes a paper on surveillance in a pandemic, following meeting at a series of workshops with the MS. |
|
September |
At request of Health Commissioner ECDC undertakes an updated survey of preparedness in EU and EEA countries. Fourth Joint EC/ECDC/WHO Workshop on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, Luxembourg, 25-27 September 2007 (particular emphasis on good practices and innovations from the EU). A separate special report on the innovations is published by ECDC. |
|
October |
Completion by ECDC of last national pandemic preparedness self-assessments – now done for all 30 EU/EEA countries Regional Office carries out pandemic preparedness assessment in Switzerland |
|
December |
WHO process for updating the pandemic planning underway involving experts from many EU countries Regional Office holds the first master class training course in pandemic preparedness for the newly independent states (Copenhagen, Denmark) ECDC publishes the second review of pandemic preparedness in the EU, updating the 2006 report. |
|
2008 |
|
|
January |
Recognition of extensive resistance to oseltamivir in seasonal influenza A(H1N1) in Europe. Some Member States start to diversify their stockpiles to have more than one neuraminidase inhibitor. |
|
May |
Heath Security Committee Influenza Section reviews the indicators developed by WHO Regional Office for Europe and ECDC with a view to their formal adoption and use in a survey in Spring of 2009 |
|
June-October |
WHO Regional Office for Europe organizes pandemic preparedness assessment visits to ten South-eastern European countries |
|
September |
French Presidency and European Commission workshop on pandemic preparedness in Angers. WHO presents the framework new pandemic plan. Workshop tackles school closures issues but especially recognises the need to improve multi-sectoral planning. |
|
|
Joint ECDC-WHO-Regional Office for Europe review of the experience of the emergence of antiviral resistant seasonal influenza A(H1N1)-H275Y, Villamoura, Portugal |
|
November |
EU Health Security Committee Influenza Section and Main Committee agree on revised ECDC-EC-WHO indicators of pandemic preparedness which are published later. WHO Regional Office for Europe organizes the 8th Regional workshop of the south-eastern European Communicable Disease Surveillance project with a focus on pandemic preparedness (Bucharest, Romania) |
|
December |
|
|
2009 |
|
|
January |
WHO Regional Office for Europe publishes pandemic preparedness status report for South-eastern Europe based on assessment visits in 2008. |
|
February |
WHO Regional Office for Europe holds an inter-country workshop on pandemic preparedness for the newly independent states as a continuation of the master class held in 2007 (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) |
|
April |
Recognition of the emergence of influenza A(H1N1) in Americas Creation of pandemic web-sites by WHO and ECDC |
|
June |
Declaration of the Pandemic Phase 6 by WHO Director General |
|
July |
EU Informal Health Council Organised under the Swedish Presidency was used to define the appropriate measures for the 2009 pandemic |
|
August |
The WHO Regional Office for Europe guidance for influenza surveillance in humans is published |
|
June to December |
Europe experiences a small focused spring/summer pandemic wave and a larger more general pandemic wave of the 2009 pandemic virus in most countries in late autumn |
|
December |
Joint WHO Regional Office for Europe/ECDC workshop on pandemic preparedness (Bucharest, Romania) |
|
2010 |
|
|
March |
Start of the global review of the IHR and an evaluation of the handling of the pandemic by WHO by a nominated independent expert Review Committee |
|
April to July |
WHO Regional Office for Europe carries out an evaluation of how pandemic preparedness activities aided the response to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in seven countries |
|
July |
Pandemic Evaluation and Lessons Learnt Conference organised by the Belgian Presidency |
|
August |
WHO Director General declares that the world is now in the post-pandemic phase OR that the pandemic is now over |
|
October |
WHO Regional Office for Europe organizes workshop on the evaluation of how pandemic preparedness activities aided the response to pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 (Copenhagen, Denmark) |
|
December to February 2011 |
First epidemics of the ‘new’ seasonal influenza appear in Europe dominated by the pandemic A(H1N1) and influenza B viruses |
|
December |
The WHO Regional Office for Europe & University of Nottingham publish recommendations for good practice in pandemic preparedness based on the WHO Regional Office for Europe evaluation of how pandemic preparedness aided the response to the 2009 pandemic in the WHO European Region |
|
2011 |
|
|
April |
Global agreement on arrangements for sharing of influenza viruses with pandemic potential and future industry funding for influenza surveillance, and endorsement at the WHA64 in May |
|
May |
Endorsement by WHA64 on the report of the IHR Review Committee on the first use of the IHR and conduct of the response to the pandemic |
|
June |
The WHO Regional Office for Europe guidance for sentinel influenza surveillance in humans is released (updated version from 2009) |
|
September to November |
ECDC and WHO Regional Office for Europe convene a series of workshops with member states to determine where countries are with revising pandemic plans. summary Publication of First European national pandemic plans post the 2009 pandemic (France, UK) |
|
2012 |
|
| March | Joint publication of Key changes to pandemic plans by Member States of the WHO European Region based on lessons learnt from the 2009 pandemic by ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. |