18 Janaury 2021
EU/EEA Member States and the UK have increased their laboratory capacity tremendously over the past 11 months as the majority of the Member States reported sufficient testing capacity until March 2021.
Many countries are adding rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) to their ...testing strategies in order to reduce pressure on RT-PCR testing.
Some Member States have already included RADT in their case definition.
The main bottlenecks, such as shortages of laboratory consumables and human resources, as well as sample storing facilities, continue to exist and may affect the overall laboratory response to COVID-19.
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This checklist has been developed to support hospital preparedness for the management of COVID-19 patients.
Elements to be assessed have been divided into the following areas:
Establishment of a core team and key internal and external contact points
Human, material and facility capacit...y
Communication and data protection
Hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), and waste management
Triage, first contact and prioritisation
Patient placement, moving of the patients in the facility, and visitor access
Environmental cleaning
For each area mentioned above, the elements or processes were identified and the items to be checked are listed below.
A procedure for the self-auditing of compliance with this checklist should be considered.
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This document provides guidance on the application of non-pharmaceutical countermeasures to minimise the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the population. Some of the measures proposed refer specifically to certain phases of the epidemic (containment or mitigation phases), and can ...be adapted depending on the assessed severity/impact of the infection. Other measures are valid for all phases of an epidemic.
The guidance is based on the current knowledge of the 2019-nCoV and evidence available on other viral respiratory pathogens, mainly the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and seasonal or pandemic influenza viruses.
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This report provides an overview of the main findings of the 2019–2020 harmonised AMR monitoring in the main food-producing animal populations monitored, in carcase/meat samples and in humans. Where available, monitoring data obtained from pigs, calves, broilers, laying hens and turkeys, as well a...s from carcase/meat samples and humans were combined and compared at the EU level, with particular emphasis on multidrug resistance, complete susceptibility and combined resistance patterns to critically important antimicrobials, as well as Salmonella and E. coli isolates possessing ESBL-/AmpC-/carbapenemase phenotypes.
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The update of the ESTC was conducted as a joint endeavour with ERS, consulting experts from international societies and organisations, national TB programmes, civil society and affected communities. The second edition of the ESTC includes 21 standards in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, HIV and co...-morbidities and public health and prevention. The ESTC is a user-friendly guide for clinicians and public health workers to help them achieve optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB
Available in 25 languages: https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/all-topics-ztuberculosisprevention-and-control/european-union-standards-tuberculosis-care
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Guiding principles for reuse are:
Respirators which have been visibly contaminated (e.g. during procedure at intubated patients, such as suction cleaning of airways, taking probes, extubation attempts, etc.) or are damaged or not fitting, should be discarded and cannot be taken for re-use or de...contamination procedures.
Respirators may be protected by a medical face mask in order to prevent soiling.
Use of new ‘expired respirators’ (manufacturers expiry date) is possible if they were properly stored until use.
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This threat assessment addresses the implications of the ongoing Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak in
Rwanda for the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA). MVD is a severe disease in humans and,
although uncommon, it has the potential to cause epidemics with significant case fatality. ...All recorded MVD
outbreaks to date have originated in Africa. MVD is not an airborne disease and is considered not to be
contagious before symptoms appear. Direct contact with the blood and other body fluids of infected people
and animals or indirect contact with contaminated surfaces and materials like clothing, bedding and medical
equipment is required for transmission. The risk of infection is minimised when proper infection prevention and
control precautions are strictly followed. There is no approved treatment or vaccine for MVD; however, several
pharmaceuticals and candidate MVD vaccines are under investigation.
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Marburg virus disease (MVD), formerly known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, is a severe disease in humans caused by Marburg marburgvirus (MARV). Although MVD is uncommon, MARV has the potential to cause epidemics with significant case fatality rates.
This document aims to provide guidance to EU/EEA public health authorities, public health professionals and healthcare practitioners for the management of persons having had contact with cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) after visiting or working in an area that is affected by EVD; also covered is ...occupational exposure to the disease
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The second ECDC/EFSA/EMA joint report on the integrated analysis of antimicrobial consumption (AMC) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria from humans and food-producing animals addressed data obtained by the Agencies’ EU-wide surveillance networks for 2013–2015. AMC in both sectors, exp...ressed in mg/kg of estimated biomass, were compared at country and European level. Substantial variations between countries were observed in both sectors. Estimated data on AMC for pigs and poultry were used for the first time. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to study associations between AMC and AMR. In 2014, the average AMC was higher in animals (152 mg/kg) than in humans (124 mg/kg), but the opposite applied to the median AMC (67 and 118 mg/kg, respectively). In 18 of 28 countries, AMC was lower in animals than in humans. Univariate analysis showed statistically-significant (p < 0.05) associations between AMC and AMR for fluoroquinolones and Escherichia coli in both sectors, for 3rd- and 4th-generation cephalosporins and E. coli in humans, and tetracyclines and polymyxins and E. coli in animals. In humans, there was a statistically-significant association between AMC and AMR for carbapenems and polymyxins in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Consumption of macrolides in animals was significantly associated with macrolide resistance in Campylobacter coli in animals and humans. Multivariate analyses provided a unique approach to assess the contributions of AMC in humans and animals and AMR in bacteria from animals to AMR in bacteria from humans. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that 3rd- and 4th-generation cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli from humans was associated with corresponding AMC in humans, whereas resistance to fluoroquinolones in Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. from humans was related to consumption of fluoroquinolones in animals. These results suggest that from a ‘One-health’ perspective, there is potential in both sectors to further develop prudent use of antimicrobials and thereby reduce AMR.
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This report presents the main characteristics of Ebola emergency preparedness in three EU Member States. Findings are organised in five sections: preparedness planning, organisational structures, recourses and capacities, intersectoral and cross-border collaboration, and country-specific findings
This document provides guidance to EU/EEA Member States on environmental cleaning in healthcare and non-healthcare settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aim of this document is to support public health preparedness planning with regard to personal protective equipment (PPE) needs in healthcare settings where patients suspected or confirmed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV are being treated.
ECDC MISSION REPORT 19–21 September 2016 ; 14–15 November 2016