MediPIET Cohort 4 and 5 fellows participate in CBRN module in Montenegro

Fifty participants from more than 20 countries, including 32 Mediterranean and Black Sea Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (MediPIET) fellows, attended the five-day training course, which was organised and facilitated by staff from ECDC, supported by CBRN experts from several European institutions. 

The CBRN module was designed to explain the principles and processes for preparedness and response to threats to human health caused by chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear agents. It provided fellows with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with CBRN agents, their effects on human health, the nature of CBRN emergency situations, and how to create, monitor, and evaluate preparedness plans.

Participants were also introduced to the international multidisciplinary dimension of CBRN cooperation in Europe and the important link between public health institutions, law enforcement, and civil protection authorities. 

ECDC Director Dr Andrea Ammon said:

We are very thankful for this good opportunity to bring you all together and have this important module. For about two years, ECDC has had the responsibility for MediPIET, and it is actually the first time that we bring all the fellows of two cohorts together. It is also the first time that we have a module in one of the MediPIET partner countries.

She added: 

Thank you, Montenegro, for hosting this module. Montenegro is not only a great ambassador for the programme but also for all public health-related matters in the frame of our work with the Western Balkans.

The module included interactive plenary presentations by facilitators and external experts, group work, sharing of experiences, and practical exercises in donning and doffing assisted by trained facilitators.