Giuseppe
Emeritus
Network of influenza epidemiology and virology surveillance experts meets in Stockholm (ECDC, edited)
Network of influenza epidemiology and virology surveillance experts meets in Stockholm 5 June 2009
The ECDC organised a meeting in Stockholm on the 3-4 June 2009 for influenza expert epidemiologists and virologists from all the EU and EEA countries to discuss the epidemiological and virological surveillance of seasonal influenza and of influenza A (H1N1) in the EU.
The meeting served as a valuable forum to discuss the experiences during the first season of operating the surveillance of influenza under ECDC coordination and to discuss the imminent shift in the reporting platform to the ECDC IT infrastructure using The European Surveillance System (TESSy).
Senior experts from CDC Atlanta and WHO-Europe also presented their reports, focusing mainly on the influenza A (H1N1) situation, while the Community Network of Reference Laboratories for Human influenza (CNRL) discussed in detail the virology laboratory preparedness, difficulties and solutions related to testing this new variant as compared to the seasonal flu virus.
A number of innovative sources of data that may be used as adjuncts to routine surveillance were also presented and discussed.
These included the web based Google Flutrends, the Influenzanet project, and the Swedish web queries initiative and the mortality monitoring project, EuroMOMO.
The meeting ended with agreeing that a more focused meeting will be organised by ECDC in six weeks time to allow Member States to share their experiences in dealing with influenza A (H1N1) in the EU.
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<cite cite="http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/health_content/Articles/article_20090605.aspx">Network of influenza epidemiology and virology surveillance experts meets in Stockholm</cite>The ECDC organised a meeting in Stockholm on the 3-4 June 2009 for influenza expert epidemiologists and virologists from all the EU and EEA countries to discuss the epidemiological and virological surveillance of seasonal influenza and of influenza A (H1N1) in the EU.
The meeting served as a valuable forum to discuss the experiences during the first season of operating the surveillance of influenza under ECDC coordination and to discuss the imminent shift in the reporting platform to the ECDC IT infrastructure using The European Surveillance System (TESSy).
Senior experts from CDC Atlanta and WHO-Europe also presented their reports, focusing mainly on the influenza A (H1N1) situation, while the Community Network of Reference Laboratories for Human influenza (CNRL) discussed in detail the virology laboratory preparedness, difficulties and solutions related to testing this new variant as compared to the seasonal flu virus.
A number of innovative sources of data that may be used as adjuncts to routine surveillance were also presented and discussed.
These included the web based Google Flutrends, the Influenzanet project, and the Swedish web queries initiative and the mortality monitoring project, EuroMOMO.
The meeting ended with agreeing that a more focused meeting will be organised by ECDC in six weeks time to allow Member States to share their experiences in dealing with influenza A (H1N1) in the EU.
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