European Centre for Disease Control by 2005:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The European Commission has adopted a proposal to create a European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) to substantially reinforce the means to control communicable diseases, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), effectively in Europe. It hopes that the ECDC could be operational as an independent European agency in 2005, once approved by the European Parliament and Council. The Commission says that the new centre will mobilise and significantly reinforce synergies between the existing national centres for disease control. It will have a small core staff and an extended network of contacts in member states' public health institutes and academia. "By pooling expertise around Europe, it will be able to provide authoritative scientific advice on serious health threats, recommend control measures, allow quick mobilisation of intervention teams and thus enable a rapid and effective EU-wide response", said the Commission.