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15 July 2010
ECDC Director attends ministerial meeting - how Europe can be better prepared for health security crises
Country: Europe
ECDC Director Dr Marc Sprenger participating in the EPSCO Council meeting in Brussels.
ECDC Director, Dr Marc Sprenger, contributed to the informal session of EU Ministers of Health on how Europe can be better prepared for health security crises. As part of the EU Belgian Presidency programme, European Ministers (EPSCO Council) met in Brussels on Monday 05 July to discuss a series of key issues related to health. Informal Councils offer an opportunity for European Union Ministers of Health to discuss important health matters and part of the agenda was dedicated to the issues raised during a conference the previous week - ‘Lessons learned from the influenza pandemic A H1N1’. As part of the process ECDC, which was heavily involved in supporting countries and the EU during the pandemic, was asked to contribute in the discussions. The work of ECDC during the pandemic, such as the independent risk assessments, were acknowledged as authoritative and helpful evidence which allowed countries to take appropriate actions.In conclusion, EU ministers agreed to revise the Pandemic Readiness Plan for the European Union to reflect the results of the Executive Committee of the WHO and the changes in global cooperation.
ECDC's key messages
Preparedness, co-ordination and flexibility are key to coping with a crisis
1. The 2009 Pandemic has shown that Europe can cope with a crisis. However, the pandemic virus could have been worse and yet there were still major challenges in our ability to respond. Future pandemics and threats may test Europe further. Therefore lessons need to be learnt and flexibility will be critical. Existing preparedness plans and systems need to be revised. This will ensure they can be adapted rapidly to differing types and severity of crisis;
Systems established prior to the pandemic worked, but we can’t stand still
2. During the 2009 Pandemic we have relied on systems established prior to the Pandemic. Maintaining strong and well resourced Institutes of Public Health is vital to better prepare and react to the next crisis. Here, microbiology laboratories and epidemiologists are critical. However, other gaps exist. One group of gaps, identified by Member States and ECDC concern surveillance;
* Surveillance of severe disease (surveillance in hospitals) and deaths;
* Agreed definitions of severity of a pandemic (but be wary of simplistic solutions here);
* Timely information on who has been infected (through seroepidemiology);
* Rapid sharing of analyses between member states, even in a crisis.
Risk communication in Europe faces many challenges
3. This pandemic has clearly illustrated the challenge in risk communication. Europe is diverse and communicating risk in this setting is challenging. This diversity inevitably leads to varied perceptions of risk among the public and experts. One challenge in our risk communication is to better involve the scientific community and civil society. Our aim must be that risk is understood and trust maintained. For citizens, public health experts and policy makers, taking informed decisions relies on independent and transparent scientific information.
Further reading
* Conference in ‘Lessons learned from the influenza pandemic A H1N1’
* EPSO Council
* EU Belgian Presidency site
15 July 2010
ECDC Director attends ministerial meeting - how Europe can be better prepared for health security crises
Country: Europe
ECDC Director Dr Marc Sprenger participating in the EPSCO Council meeting in Brussels.
ECDC Director, Dr Marc Sprenger, contributed to the informal session of EU Ministers of Health on how Europe can be better prepared for health security crises. As part of the EU Belgian Presidency programme, European Ministers (EPSCO Council) met in Brussels on Monday 05 July to discuss a series of key issues related to health. Informal Councils offer an opportunity for European Union Ministers of Health to discuss important health matters and part of the agenda was dedicated to the issues raised during a conference the previous week - ‘Lessons learned from the influenza pandemic A H1N1’. As part of the process ECDC, which was heavily involved in supporting countries and the EU during the pandemic, was asked to contribute in the discussions. The work of ECDC during the pandemic, such as the independent risk assessments, were acknowledged as authoritative and helpful evidence which allowed countries to take appropriate actions.In conclusion, EU ministers agreed to revise the Pandemic Readiness Plan for the European Union to reflect the results of the Executive Committee of the WHO and the changes in global cooperation.
ECDC's key messages
Preparedness, co-ordination and flexibility are key to coping with a crisis
1. The 2009 Pandemic has shown that Europe can cope with a crisis. However, the pandemic virus could have been worse and yet there were still major challenges in our ability to respond. Future pandemics and threats may test Europe further. Therefore lessons need to be learnt and flexibility will be critical. Existing preparedness plans and systems need to be revised. This will ensure they can be adapted rapidly to differing types and severity of crisis;
Systems established prior to the pandemic worked, but we can’t stand still
2. During the 2009 Pandemic we have relied on systems established prior to the Pandemic. Maintaining strong and well resourced Institutes of Public Health is vital to better prepare and react to the next crisis. Here, microbiology laboratories and epidemiologists are critical. However, other gaps exist. One group of gaps, identified by Member States and ECDC concern surveillance;
* Surveillance of severe disease (surveillance in hospitals) and deaths;
* Agreed definitions of severity of a pandemic (but be wary of simplistic solutions here);
* Timely information on who has been infected (through seroepidemiology);
* Rapid sharing of analyses between member states, even in a crisis.
Risk communication in Europe faces many challenges
3. This pandemic has clearly illustrated the challenge in risk communication. Europe is diverse and communicating risk in this setting is challenging. This diversity inevitably leads to varied perceptions of risk among the public and experts. One challenge in our risk communication is to better involve the scientific community and civil society. Our aim must be that risk is understood and trust maintained. For citizens, public health experts and policy makers, taking informed decisions relies on independent and transparent scientific information.
Further reading
* Conference in ‘Lessons learned from the influenza pandemic A H1N1’
* EPSO Council
* EU Belgian Presidency site
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