Network for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases
A Parliament and Council Decision to set up a network to promote cooperation and coordination between the European Commission and EU Member States on the prevention and control of communicable diseases in the Community has recently been published in the Official Journal. The categories of disease to be targeted are provided in a list in the annex to the Decision and include those preventable by vaccination, viral hepatitis, nosocomial infections as well as food and water-borne diseases. The network has two specific objectives: - The epidemiological surveillance of the categories of diseases listed; - An early warning and response system for their prevention and control. The network will be established by bringing the Commission and all relevant authorities, designated for the purpose, into permanent communication with one another. The network will be coordinated by the Commission, who will be assisted by a committee composed of representatives from the Member States. The type of information to be submitted by the relevant authorities to the Commission includes: - Information on the appearance or resurgence of cases of communicable diseases and the control measures applied; - Information on unusual epidemic phenomena or new communicable diseases of unknown origin; - Any relevant information on the categories of disease set out in the annex and on new communicable diseases of unknown origin.