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Background

EUVAC.NET is a European surveillance network for vaccine-preventable diseases and incorporates all 27 EU Member States together with Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. The network was created in 1999 in line with the European Parliament and Council Decision No. 2119/98/EC which formed the basis of creating networks for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases in the European Community.

Until January 2009, EUVAC.NET was jointly funded by the public health programme 2003–08 (DG SANCO) of the EU Commission under grant agreement number 2004205 and the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), Denmark. The network is currently jointly funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the SSI under framework agreement grant number 2008-005.
  EUVAC.NET-participating countries
Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Italy Luxembourg Malta The Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland Romania Slovakia Slovenia Turkey Croatia
Since its establishment, EUVAC.NET focused primarily on measles surveillance as this is an important strategy to meet the objective of measles elimination from Europe. EUVAC.NET has been working closely with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and ECDC on this issue. EUVAC.NET also includes the surveillance of other childhood vaccine-preventable diseases namely pertussis, rubella (and congenital rubella syndrome), mumps and varicella.

In the current framework grant agreement, EUVAC.NET will include in its activities the mapping of laboratory performance for pertussis, measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, mumps and varicella. The outcome of this activity would be an important starting point to identify areas for improving laboratory surveillance. The development and strengthening of laboratory-based activites for surveillance of pertussis is contracted to the EUpertstrain network of the National Institute for Health and Welfare based in Turku, Finland. The activity on laboratory diagnostic performance for measles and rubella will be carried out in close collaboration with the Virus reference Department at the Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London, UK.

Updated: 27 February 2009