2000/96/EC: Commission Decision of 22 December 1999 on the communicable diseases to be progressively covered by the Community network under Decision No 2119/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document number C(1999) 4015)
Date: 1999-12-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: disease prevention, epidemiology, health control, infectious disease, information network, zoonosis

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Official Journal of the European Communities

3. 2. 2000

COMMISSION DECISION

of 22 December 1999

on the communicable diseases to be progressively covered by the Community network under
Decision No 2119/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

(notified under document number C(1999) 4015)

(2000/96/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(6)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Decision No 2119/98/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 1998 setting
up a network for the epidemiological surveillance and control
of communicable diseases in the Community (1), and in partic-
ular Article 3(a) to (e) thereof,

(7)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

According to Decision No 2119/98/EC, a network at
Community level is to be set up to promote cooperation
and coordination between the Member States, with the
assistance of the Commission, with a view to improving
the prevention and control, in the Community, of the
categories of communicable diseases specified in the
Annex to that Decision. That network is to be used for
the epidemiological surveillance of those diseases and for
the establishment of an early warning and response
system.

As regards epidemiological surveillance, the network is
to be established by bringing into permanent communi-
cation with one another through all appropriate tech-
nical means the Commission and those structures and/or
authorities which, at the level of each Member State and
that Member State, are
under
competent at national
level and are charged with
collecting information relating to the epidemiological
surveillance of communicable diseases.

the responsibility of

The diseases and health issues selected for coverage by
epidemiological surveillance at Community level should
reflect the present needs in the Community, in particular
the added value of surveillance at Community level.

The list of diseases or health issues selected for surveil-
lance should be altered in response to changes in disease
prevalence and in response to the emergence of new
communicable diseases threatening public health.

the Community
The Commission should provide
network with the appropriate information tools, while
ensuring consistency and complementarity with the rele-
vant Community programmes and initiatives.

This Decision should apply without prejudice to Council
Directive 92/117/EEC of 17 December 1992 concerning
measures for protection against specified zoonoses and
specified zoonotic agents in animals and products of
animal origin in order to prevent outbreaks of food-
borne infections and intoxications (2), as last amended
by Directive 1999/72/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council (3).

This Decision should facilitate the integration of the
Community network set up under Decision No 2119/
98/EC with other rapid alert networks set up at national
or Community level
for diseases and special health
issues to be covered by the early warning and response
system. For the purpose of
the
Community network should therefore operate by using
the Health Surveillance System for Communicable
Diseases within the European Public Health Information
Network (Euphin-HSSCD), consisting of three compo-
nents:

its implementation,

(a) an early warning and response system for reports of
specified threats to the public transmitted by the
competent public health authorities of each Member
State responsible for determining measures which
may be required to protect public health;

(b) exchange of information between accredited struc-
tures and authorities of the Member States relevant
to public health;

(c) specific networks on diseases selected for epidemio-
logical surveillance between accredited structures
and authorities of the Member States.

(8)

(9)

The development of new useful technologies should be
monitored on a regular basis and taken into considera-
tion for the improvement of electronic information
exchange.

For logistic reasons, not all communicable diseases or
special health issues selected for epidemiological surveil-
lance can immediately be covered by dedicated surveil-
lance network arrangements. Nevertheless, in order that
the Community network can begin to work and gain
experience, the competent authorities in the Member
States should disseminated in the Community network
relevant information in their possession.

(1) OJ L 268, 3.10.1998, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 62, 15.3.1993, p. 38.
(3) OJ L 210, 10.8.1999, p. 12.

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(10)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up by
Article 7 of Decision No 2119/98/EC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The communicable diseases and special health issues to be
covered by epidemiological surveillance in the Community
network pursuant to Decision No 2119/98/EC are listed in
Annex I to this Decision. The surveilance shall be performed in
a cost-effective way having regard to the nature of the disease,
the existing networks and the Community added value.

Article 6

Member States shall disseminate in the Community network
relevant
information in their possession detected in their
national surveillance system on communicable diseases or
special health issues selected for epidemiological surveillance
not yet covered by dedicated Community surveillance network
arrangements.

Article 7

Relevant information on communicable diseases not listed in
Annex I
shall be disseminated through the Community
network, in accordance with Article 4 of Decision No 2119/
98/EC, whenever this is found necessary in order to protect
public health in the Community.

Article 2

Article 8

The criteria for the selection of the diseases and special health
issues to be covered by epidemiological surveillance within the
Community network are listed in Annex II.

Article 3

the technical

the purpose of

this
For
Decision, the Community network shall
initially operate by
using the Health Surveillance System for Communicable
Diseases within the European Public Health Information
Network (Euphin-HSSCD).

implementation of

Article 4

The Community network shall be put in place by modifying
and integrating as appropriate existing Community-supported
surveillance networks and by building up new networks for
diseases not yet covered by surveillance networks. Where a low
number of cases of a disease does not allow for a dedicated
surveillance network to be put in place for that disease, surveil-
lance information within the Community network shall be
shared on the basis of case reports.

Where specific surveillance networks are put
in place for
zoonoses for which surveillance of human cases is required
under Directive 92/117/EEC,
shall be
performed in accordance with Decision No 2119/98/EC, and
such data required for the implementation of Directive 92/
117/EC shall be made fully available for that purpose. To this
end, case definitions and surveillance methods for human
disease shall be drawn up, as far as possible, in such a way that
the data collected serve also Directive 92/117/EC.

surveillance

that

Article 9

The competent authorities in the Member States shall commu-
nicate to the Commission other diseases and special health
issues for which epidemiological surveillance at Community
the
level shall be progressively developed on the basis of
criteria listed in Annex II.

This Decision shall take effect on 1 January 2000.

Article 10

Article 11

Article 5

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Case definitions, the nature and type of data for collection and
transmission as well as the appropriate epidemiological and
microbiological surveillance methods shall be determined for
each specific surveillance network integrated into or created for
the Community network. Case definitions and surveillance
methods shall also be determined for diseases on which infor-
mation is shared by case reports only.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 1999.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

1.

1.1.

COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND SPECIAL HEALTH ISSUES TO BE PROGRESSIVELY COVERED BY
THE COMMUNITY NETWORK

For the diseases/health issues listed below, surveillance within the Community network will be performed
by standardised collection and analysis of data in a way that will be determined for each disease/health
issue when specific Community surveillance networks are put in place.

2.

DISEASES

2.1. Diseases preventable by vaccination

Diphtheria

Infections with haemophilus influenza group B

Influenza

Measles

Mumps

Pertussis

Poliomyelitis

Rubella

2.2.

Sexually transmitted diseases

Chlamydia infections

Gonococcal

infections

HIV-infection

Syphilis

2.3. Viral hepatitis

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis C

2.4.

Food- and water-borne diseases and diseases of environmental origin

Botulism

Campylobacteriosis

Cryptosporidiosis

Giardiasis

Infection with Enterohaemorrhagic E.coli

Leptospirosis

Listeriosis

Salmonellosis

Shigellosis

Toxoplasmosis

Trichinosis

Yersinosis

2.5. Other diseases

2.5.1. Diseases transmitted by non-conventional agents

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies variant (CJD)

2.5.2. Air-borne diseases

Legionellosis

Meningococcal disease

Pneumococcal

infections

Tuberculosis

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2.5.3. Zoonoses (other than in 2.4)

Brucellosis

Echinococcosis

Rabies

2.5.4. Serious imported diseases

Cholera

Malaria

Plague

Viral haemorrhagic fevers

3.

SPRECIAL HEALTH ISSUES

3.1. Nosocomial infections

3.2. Antimicrobial resistance

ANNEX II

Criteria for selection of communicable diseases of special areas to be covered by epidemiological surveillance
within the network.

1. Dieseases that cause, or have the potential to cause, significant morbidity and/or mortality across the Community,

especially where the prevention of the diseases requires a global approach to coordination.

2. Diseases where the exchange of information may provide early warning of threats to public health.

3. Rare and serious diseases which would not be recognised at national level and where the pooling of data would allow

hypothesis generation from a wider knowledge base.

4. Diseases for which effective preventive measures are available with a protective health gain.

5. Diseases for which a comparison by Member States would contribute to the evaluation of national and Community

programmes.