Tender: coordination of a European laboratory network to strengthen laboratory diagnostics for diphtheria surveillance
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has launched a call for tenders for the coordination of a European laboratory network to strengthen laboratory diagnostics for diphtheria surveillance. The contractor is expected to: - coordinate the European laboratory network on diphtheria, which will be part of a broader EU surveillance system for the illness; - assess and improve laboratory performance of standardised and appropriate methods to be used for the laboratory diagnosis of culture-confirmed diphtheria infections to ensure accurate and comparative diphtheria surveillance across Europe; - expand knowledge on serological immunity procedures for detecting diphtheria antitoxin antibodies across Europe, and assess and improve laboratory performance of accurate and standardised serological immunity methods; - uphold a high level of laboratory preparedness and strengthen microbiological expertise across Europe for diphtheria through laboratory training workshops; - coordinate the molecular surveillance on diphtheria, including the evaluation of new, rapid, automated molecular technologies, and maintain a high-quality molecular surveillance across Europe, including the assessment and improvement of laboratory performance in molecular typing.For further information, please contact: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Tomtebodavägen 11a Attn: Procurement S-171 83 Stockholm Tel. +46 858 601 000 Fax +46 858 601 001 E-mail: procurement@ecdc.europa.eu. To see the full details of the call, please consult the following web address: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:309250-2009:TEXT:EN:HTML(opens in new window)