Public health control measures

ECDC Background Advice on Public Health Measures that may be deployed in the event of an Influenza Pandemic or severe epidemics of seasonal influenza

The document should be read along with previous guidance that ECDC has published on personal protective measures which is summarized in the text and tables along with the current WHO advice which has been reproduced with kind permission of WHO. Relevant scientific guidance on the use of human H5N1 vaccines is also available and is referred with electronic links in the document.   As befits the limited Mandate of ECDC (to give background advice not to prescribe), the diversity of Europe and the varied form and severity of pandemics the document is a guide or Menu of the possible measures, their advantages and disadvantages etc rather than recommending specific measures.

Guide to public health measures to reduce the impact of influenza pandemics in Europe – ‘The ECDC Menu’

This document presents a menu of possible public measures to be taken during influenza pandemics, giving public health and scientific information on what is known or can be said about their likely effectiveness, costs (direct and indirect), acceptability, public expectations and other more practical considerations. The ‘ECDC Menu’ aims to help EU Member States and institutions, individually or collectively, decide which measures they will apply.