ECDC: On Air

In this episode, we make a final interview with ECDC Director Andrea Ammon, who will soon be retiring after a long career in public health. Andrea Ammon speaks about her 19 years at ECDC, including 9 years as Director, and reflects on how the agency has evolved. She also tells us about the most memorable moments and challenges, including managing the Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about ECDC in general please visit ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

According to the latest ECDC survey, each year, 4.3 million patients in hospitals in the EU/EEA acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection during their stay in the hospital. Diamantis Plachouras - ECDC Principal Expert in Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections tells us why this issue needs to be tackled as swift as possible and goes deeper into the data coming from the third point prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in acute care hospitals, coordinated by ECDC in 2022-2023. Read more about the survey here. For more information about ECDC in general please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Public health institutes across Europe increasingly recognise the value of examining public health trends and imagining what the future may look like according to different scenarios. In this episode, Gerjon Ikink, ECDC principal expert on public health foresight, explains what foresight is, why it is important in public health, and how it can be translated into concrete action to prepare for future infectious disease threats. For more information about ECDC in general please visit ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

For today's episode we sit down with Carlos Carvalho - ECDC's Principal Expert in Digital Surveillance to talk about the state of play of making the public health data flow up to speed in the third decade of the XXI-st century and usable for modern surveillance of infectious diseases. How far are we in creating the fully digital health data system in Europe, enabling us to track infectious diseases faster? What are the hurdles we still need to jump over? Listen to our podcast and find out! For more information about ECDC in general please visit ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this episode we take a closer look at the data collection for respiratory viruses and why we should take this more seriously than just a cough or a sneeze. Nick Bundle, ECDC expert on respiratory viruses, also gives us the lowdown on the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary (ERVISS), a new surveillance tool which presents weekly data on influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV. ERVISS platform is available here. For more information about ECDC in general please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

On today's episode we are joined by Otilia Mårdh, Medical Epidemiologist at ECDC, to discuss the latest reports on sexually transmitted infections in Europe. We explore the key findings from the recent reports, discuss the implications for public health, and uncover the strategies being implemented to address the rising rates of STIs. You can find the reports here. For more information about ECDC in general please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠.

On today's episode, we sit down with Ines Steffens, editor-in-chief of Eurosurveillance. Eurosurveillance is an open-access peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted to the epidemiology, surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases. Published weekly, with 50 issues per year, it features short rapid communications, longer in-depth research articles, surveillance and outbreak reports, reviews and perspective papers. We discuss the journal's history, scope, and plans for its future. You can find more information about Eurosurveillance here. For more information about ECDC in general please visit ⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠.

Today's episode is special one, and is hosted by James Ramsey, Head of the Communication Unit at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). He is joined by experts from ECDC, EFSA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Environment Agency (EEA), and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to discuss the One Health prespective. Our well-being depends on the health of animals, plants and our environment. What affects one affects all the others, and increasingly so. A One Health perspective is about joining forces to find integrated solutions to common challenges such as climate change and antibiotic resistance. Join us to hear from experts at five EU scientific agencies about how we can put One Health into practice. Whether safeguarding access to life-saving medicines or combating the next pandemic, a One Health approach will be essential to how our society navigates the future.   Host: James Ramsay, Head of the Communication Unit at EFSA Guests: Mike Catchpole, Chief Scientist at the ⁠European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)⁠ Carlos das Neves, Chief Scientist at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Dario Piselli, Expert in environment and health at the European Environment Agency (EEA) Wim De Coen, Head of Hazard Assessment at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Steffen Thirstrup, Chief Medical Officer at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) EFSA's Science on the Menu podcast ECHA's Safer Chemicals podcast For more information in general please visit ⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠social media⁠⁠.

For this episode of ECDC on Air, we sit down with ECDC’s expert in genetic epidemiology and bioinformatics – Theresa Enkirch. Theresa gives us an overview of what genetic epidemiologists and bioinformaticians do and how that has changed the current epidemiological world. She also talks about a brand new ECDC course – the GenEpiBioTrain – that can properly boost one’s knowledge about all matters regarding bioinformatics and genetic epidemiology. Want to know more? Check the ECDC’s Virtual Academy for the courses here. You can find more information about ECDC's work on our website and on social media.

Every year ⁠World AIDS Day⁠ is marked on the 1st of December. Beginning in 1988 as the first-ever international day for global health, it is now in its 35th year. We sat down with Anastasia Pharris, Principal expert in Communicable Diseases, to discuss the latest joint ECDC-WHO Europe HIV/AIDS surveillance in Europe report to take stock of where Europe stands with the latest developments, challenges, and achievements. As a part of World AIDS Day, ECDC will host a digital event on ⁠HIV: Towards zero stigma⁠ on the 6th of December 2023. The event is open to the public and will focus on the recent insights on HIV stigma in Europe, how it is perceived in different contexts, and examples of good practices to ensure that the goal of zero stigma is achieved. You can find more information on the surveillance report ⁠here⁠.   For more information in general please visit ⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠ or follow us on ⁠social media⁠.

Is the artificial intelligence going to take our jobs? Or will it change the daily work of the ECDC experts looking for epidemic signals? Perhaps it already does? In this episode we sit down for a chat with Gianfranco Spiteri - ECDC's Group Leader in the Epidemic Intelligence team to take a look at the recent AI developments and what the new tools can bring to his daily work. Find more information about ECDC's work on our portal here: ecdc.europa.eu

Joaquin Baruch who was part of the ECDC Fellowship Programme for epidemiologists - EPIET - talks to us about his experiences as a fellow in Malta, as well as doing field work in places such as Western Sahara, Algeria and Mozambique. This episode was recorded during ESCAIDE 2022, and is aired to mark the World Field Epidemiology Day on 7 September. If you are interested in applying for the ECDC fellowship programmes for epidemiologists and microbiologists, please click here. Be sure to check out the Disease Detectives - an ECDC: on Air episode featuring an interview with ECDC’s Head of Fellowship Programme Adam Roth - here - to learn more about the opportunity. You can also see the Postcards from the Field (in a video format) where fellows share their experiences of field work here.

In this episode, we dig a little deeper into the fascinating world of biostatistics. Our guide is Gaetano Marrone - an ECDC expert in the field of statistics and its use in public health. Listen in to learn more! And don't forget to visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for general information about ECDC, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Have you ever wondered how substances of human origin (SoHo) - blood, tissues, cells, organs - can be used in medical therapies? In this episode, ECDCs SoHo Team talks about the lifesaving medical benefits that SoHos can bring and the measures to ensure that they are used safely. The team also gives an overview of the legislation and regulation at EU-level as well as the importance of cross-border co-operation. To learn more about the substances of human origin and the role ECDC plays in keeping them safe click here. For general information about ECDC, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠, or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠.

On this episode we are speaking with Georgios Theocharopoulos, Scientific Officer for Emergency Preparedness and Response, to discuss ECDC4AfricaCDC, a four-year capacity- and partnership-building project between ECDC and Africa CDC. You can find more information on the ECDC4AfricaCDC project here. For general information about ECDC, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠⁠, or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠⁠.

With the pandemic lessons in mind, steps are taken for Europe to be stronger and better prepared to tackle current and emerging threats of infectious diseases. ECDC’s new reinforced mandate gives the agency a stronger role to support the EU Member States with surveillance, joint preparedness and response planning and issue stronger guidance during emergencies. Orla Condell, an Emergency Preparedness and Response expert from ECDC, shares in this episode her insights on the process of building an EU Health Task Force to mobilise and deploy outbreak assistance teams and to strengthen preparedness capacities. For more on the EU Health Task Force visit the dedicated page here. For general information about ECDC, please visit ⁠⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠⁠, or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠social media⁠⁠⁠.

It's 5 May and we mark today the World Hand Hygiene Day. Hand hygiene or simply - hand washing is one of the simplest, yet most important and effective measure to lower the chances of catching or spreading infectious diseases in public spaces and in healthcare settings! We asked ECDC's expert in Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections - Diamantis Plachouras to tell us a bit more about the matter - so wash your hands, put your headphones or speakers on, and listen in! For more on hand hygiene, visit our World #HandHygieneDay dedicated page ⁠here⁠. For general information about ECDC, please visit ⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠, or follow us on ⁠⁠social media⁠⁠.

It is April 2023 and more than three years have passed since the first cases of COVID-19 were recorded. In this episode we ask Bruno Ciancio, ECDC's Head of Surveillance, to give an overview of the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic until now, explain the current state of the pandemic, and provide a glimpse at how it may evolve in the future. For all ECDC information on COVID-19 click ⁠here. For general information about ECDC, please visit ⁠⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠⁠, or follow us on ⁠⁠social media⁠⁠.

European Immunization Week (EIW) is marked across Europe every year in the final week of April. It aims to raise awareness of the importance of immunisation for the general health and well-being of the European and wider population. To mark the start of EIW, we have invited the ECDC's Deputy Chief Scientist - Piotr Kramarz to talk about the importance of vaccination, the hurdles and current issues we need to overcome. You can find ECDC's information on vaccines here. For general information about ECDC, please visit ⁠ecdc.europa.eu⁠, or follow us on ⁠social media⁠.

Today, 24th March is World Tuberculosis Day, so there isn't a better time to talk about TB and the different ways to fight it. Our expert - Senia Rosales-Klintz tells us that this indeed is the plan, and with a deadline for 2030. Can it be done? If you would like to read the latest news on TB and see the details of the World TB Day campaign, visit our website here. For general information about ECDC, please visit ecdc.europa.eu, or follow us on social media.