Topics of Interest

4th EU / WHO Workshop on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness

On September 25-27, senior officials of the EU, WHO and UN met in Luxembourg to review progress made on preparedness against an influenza pandemic.
According to Zsuzanna Jakab, Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), "considerable progress as been achieved in building preparedness. As a result, the EU is far better equipped to handle a pandemic than two years ago. But it is still only ‘half-time', and a second phase of preparedness must now begin.  This should focus on making plans more integrated, and more operational, across all levels of society."
In particular, Jakab highlighted five areas where progress by both member states and the EU is stilll needed:
  • Ensuring that planning and preparedness are integrated across government departments (a pandemic will affect the whole of society, not just the health sector).
  • Ensuring that national plans and actions work well together between and within countries.
  • Undertaking research into the basic parameters of influenza transmission and the effectiveness of interventions against the infection.
  • Strengthening the response to seasonal influenza.
  • Making plans operational down to the local level, so that individual citizens will benefit.

Intergroup on avian influenza

The Health and Consumer Intergroup organised a meeting on "Avian Flu: Pandemic Preparedness and Risk Communication" in May 2006. The meeting aimed to explore potential European-wide responses and strategies that could be implemented at European level with the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Food Safety Authority, public health organisations and consumer organisations.

Professor Francesco Blasi, Chair of the ERS Respiratory infections Assembly, gave a presentation about preparedness and risk communication.

 Read more information on the meeting and the presentations discussed at the meeting

Report on avian influenza and pandemic influenza

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published the report of the panel of independent scientific experts established to answer a series of eight scientific questions concerning H5N1 avian influenza and pandemic influenza.

Professor Francesco Blasi, Chair of the ERS Respiratory Infections Assembly, participated in the panel of experts established by the ECDC.

 Read the full report

Pandemic influenza

Avian influenza or "bird flu" is currently causing worldwide concern. The H5N1 strain of avian influenza, an extremely severe influenza virus which has been monitored by health experts for almost eight years, does not jump easily from birds to humans.  However, since the middle of 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 174 human cases of avian influenza and 94 deaths. This virus has also caused the largest and most severe outbreaks in poultry on record since the middle of 2003, and is now causing concern in European countries and the European Union.

An influenza pandemic is likely to affect the life of European citizens, as well as medical services and other essential community services, namely public transport, police and fire brigades, and cause considerable economic losses.

Adequate planning can reduce the impact of a pandemic on society. WHO assessed seven main components that should be addressed in order to reduce this impact and which should be implemented at national, EU and international level:
  • Preparation and planning.
  • Detection and surveillance.
  • Case investigation and treatment.
  • Preventing the spread of the disease throughout the countries.
  • Maintaining essential services, including healthcare.
  • Research and evaluation.
  • Implementation, testing and revision on plans.


Recent events lead the European Commission to take preventive measures as the disease spreads westwards. Over the past months, the European Union has imposed import bans on potentially risky poultry products and agreed on tighter biosecurity measures, such as keeping poultry indoors. The European Union has also invited Member States to develop preparatory plans and coordinate actions at EU level.


EU actions

  • Legislation: EU legislation on avian influenza has been reviewed and includes new measures, such as authorising preventive vaccination in very specific cases.
  • Guidelines: the European Commission adopted guidelines on the procedure for communication to Member States, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Commission on highly pathogenic avian influenza events in humans.
  • Communications: the European Commission adopted two communications on preparatory and response planning. The overall goal of these communications is to assist EU Member States to develop their preparatory plans and cooperation at EU level.
  • Financial support: the Commission has also provided funding for Member States to monitor wild birds and domestic poultry in an effort to limit the spread of the disease.
  • Research: the European Union committed €20 million for research in this field.

For updated information on poultry outbreaks and human cases of avian influenza, please note that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization publish regular updates on their websites.