Pandemic influenza: are Europe's institutions prepared?

Abstract

In December 2005, the new European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indicated that the European Union's (EU) preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic would be ‘more or less’ complete by 2007 and noted ‘Europe will be much better prepared than any other part of the world’.¹ Over the past year there has been considerable activity in planning, coordinating, and testing preparedness planning by EU institutions to meet this aim. But if effective protection is to be achieved, more attention still needs to be paid to efforts to stimulate research and development, redress inequalities in the distribution of resources including vaccines and antiviral drugs, and strengthen the coordinating role and authority of national and international institutions.