Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral infectious disease involving the central nervous system. The disease most often manifests as meningitis, encephalitis or meningoencephalitis. Myelitis and spinal paralysis also occurs. In about one third of cases sequelae, predominantly cognitive dysfunction, persists for a year or more.
The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is a program of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The modern EIS is a two-year, hands-on post-doctoral training program in epidemiology, with a focus on field work.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is an agency of the European Union (EU) whose mission is to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. It covers a wide spectrum of activities, such as: surveillance, epidemic intelligence, response, scientific advice, microbiology, preparedness, public health training, international relations, health communication, and the scientific journal Eurosurveillance. The centre was established in 2004 and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden.
The Réseau Sentinelles or the French GPs' Sentinelles Network is a network of 1 314 volunteer general practitioners and 116 pediatricians, working throughout the metropolitan regions of France. Its goal is to provide clinical surveillance in France for 10 health indicators. This network, created in November 1984 by Professor Alain-Jacques Valleron, is regulated under the auspices of the mixed research unit U1136 of Inserm and Sorbonne University.
A notifiable disease is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities. The collation of information allows the authorities to monitor the disease, and provides early warning of possible outbreaks. In the case of livestock diseases, there may also be the legal requirement to kill the infected livestock upon notification. Many governments have enacted regulations for reporting of both human and animal diseases.
The European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET) Fellowship provides training and practical experience in intervention epidemiology at the national centres for surveillance and control of communicable diseases in the European Union. The fellowship is aimed at EU medical practitioners, public-health nurses, microbiologists, veterinarians and other health professionals with previous experience in public health and a keen interest in epidemiology.
Field Epidemiology is the application of epidemiologic methods to unexpected health problems when a rapid on-site investigation is necessary for timely intervention. A more expansive definition is: The practice of Epidemiology in the field. Work is done in communities often as a public health service and as part of government or a closely allied institution. Field epidemiology is how epidemics and outbreaks are investigated, and is used to implement measures to protect and improve the health of the public. Field epidemiologists must deal with unexpected, sometimes urgent problems that demand immediate solution. Its methods are designed to answer specific epidemiologic questions in order to plan, implement, and/or evaluate public health interventions. These studies consider the needs of those who will use the results. The task of a field epidemiologist is not complete until the results of a study have been clearly communicated in a timely manner to those who need to know, and an intervention made to improve the health of the people.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode. As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Health. It was founded in 1891 and is named for its founding director, the founder of modern bacteriology and Nobel laureate Robert Koch.
The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, until 2014 known as the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers, is a directorate-general of the European Commission. The DG is responsible for the implementation of European Union laws on food safety and health. It is headed by European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides and Director-General Sandra Gallina.
The International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) is an international umbrella organization of national public health institutes (NPHIs), public health government agencies working to improve national disease prevention and response. IANPHI is made up of 100+ members, located in more than 90 countries. An important goal of IANPHI is to improve health outcomes by strengthening NPHIs or supporting countries in creating new NPHIs.
Philippe Autier is a Belgian epidemiologist. He is doing research on cancer, where he contributed to the understanding of the role of UV exposure in cancer development.
Carlo La Vecchia is an Italian epidemiologist. He is doing research on chronic diseases, where he contributed to the understanding of the risks related to diet, tobacco, oral contraceptive use and occupational or environmental exposure to toxic substances in cancer and other chronic diseases development.
The French National AIDS Council is an advisory body established in 1989 with a mission of “to offer its views on the problems faced by society as a result of AIDS and to make useful suggestions to the government”.
Cases of the Ebola virus disease in Nigeria were reported in 2014 as a small part of the epidemic of Ebola virus disease which originated in Guinea that represented the first outbreak of the disease in a West African country. Previous outbreaks had been confined to countries in Central Africa.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) is part of Ireland's Health Service Executive.
Fernando Simón Soria is a Spanish epidemiologist serving as Director of the Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies of the Ministry of Health. He came to public prominence as spokesman for the special committee on Ebola virus disease in Spain in 2014, and a similar role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Simón tested positive for coronavirus on 30 March 2020.
Christian Heinrich Maria Drosten is a German virologist whose research focus is on novel viruses (emergent viruses). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Drosten came to national prominence as an expert on the implications and actions required to combat the illness in Germany.
Andrea Ammon is a German physician and the current director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a European Union (EU) agency strengthening Europe's defence against infectious disease. She advised the German government on the SARS and Influenza A virus subtype H2N2 outbreaks.
Ines Steffens is the editor-in-chief of Eurosurveillance. She succeeded Karl Ekdahl in this role in 2011.
