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EUVAC.Net

EUVAC.NET was a European surveillance network for selected vaccine-preventable diseases hosted at the Staten Serum Institute (SSI), Denmark. It incorporated all countries which were EU Member States up to 2011, as well as 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 SSI. From February 2009, the network was jointly funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the SSI under framework agreement grant number 2008-005.

Initially, EUVAC.NET focused primarily on the surveillance of measles to help meet the objective of measles elimination from Europe. EUVAC.NET worked closely with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and ECDC on this issue. EUVAC.NET also included the surveillance of other childhood vaccine preventable diseases namely pertussis, rubella (and congenital rubella syndrome), mumps and varicella.

Other EUVAC.NET activities included the mapping of laboratory performance for pertussis, measles and rubella. The development and strengthening of laboratory-based activities for surveillance of pertussis were 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 was carried out in close collaboration with the Virus reference Department at the Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency in London, UK.

The activities established by the EUVAC.NET project provided a solid platform to further develop the surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases in the EU. In particular it contributed to, advocated for and facilitated activities toward elimination of measles and rubella and the control of congenital rubella infection.

In September 2011, the responsibilities of EUVAC.NET were transferred to ECDC and now are coordinated by the Vaccine Preventable Disease group (VPD).

The epidemiological activities such as implementation of the new metadataset, data collection and analysis, is being carried out by ECDC through the European Surveillance System (TESSy) in collaboration with Member States.

Further to its transfer to ECDC, the network is comprised of all EU Member States and the EEA/EFTA countries.

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