Europe must share data on communicable diseases, says Commission

To help improve knowledge and dissemination of information and data concerning HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, the European Commission has published a call for proposals under the Programme for Community action on the prevention of such diseases. This call refers to...

To help improve knowledge and dissemination of information and data concerning HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, the European Commission has published a call for proposals under the Programme for Community action on the prevention of such diseases.

This call refers to six different actions:

- Exploration with Member States of ways to increase the amount and improve the quality, comparability and availability of data and provide support for strengthening national or regional monitoring systems and implementing them as part of a network and, in the case of HIV/AIDS and connected diseases, support for the European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS;
- Contribution towards improving the quality and coordination of Member States' epidemiological monitoring systems and participation in the development of surveillance networks on the basis of the jointly-defined methodologies and conditions for data transmission, prior consultation and coordination or replies;
- Setting up a Community network of public health epidemiologists for the purpose of defining common surveillance methods and tools enhancing the ability to respond in a coordinated way to the development of communicable diseases, especially in the case of epidemic outbreaks;
- Contributing, in particular by the provision of the logistical support necessary, to the production and dissemination of a regular information notice and of community bulletin on communicable diseases surveillance, comprising both routine surveillance data and reports on specific epidemiological investigations;
- Encouraging actions aimed at increasing awareness of the problems and including comparable and reliable data on nosocomial infections particularly in routine surveys of hospital conditions, promoting knowledge and exchanges of experience on the ways in which surveillance results concerning infections caused by germs resistant to normal treatment (antibiotics) are analysed, processed and used by the actor in the field;
- Promotion of investigation of the effectiveness and feasibility of screening for certain types of communicable diseases (tuberculosis, hepatitis, etc) in particular among pregnant women. Coordination of research to minimalise transmission of diseases from mother to child.

The Commission is inviting proposals for projects from organisations active in the field concerned.
For further information, please contact:

European Commission
Programme "AIDS and other communicable diseases"
DG V/F/4
Bâtiment Euroforum
10, rue Robert Stumper
L-2257 Luxembourg
Fax [phone]