ECDC - News

Preliminary data for 2025 show a significant drop in the number of reported measles cases across European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries compared with 2024.

The Winter Olympics will kick off on 6 February 2026 and run until 22 February, while the Paralympics will take place between 6 and 15 March.

On 26 January 2025, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) supported the organisation of a simulation exercise (SIMEX) in Malta, to strengthen national preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks.

ECDC, Africa CDC and the WHO Regional Office for Africa are conducting training in R programming and epidemic intelligence for surveillance experts from the National Public Health Agency of Sierra Leone.

Based on current information, the risk of infection for people from Europe travelling to or residing in the area is assessed as very low.

A Memorandum of understanding was signed in Stockholm on 29 January 2026 at the ECDC-WHO/Europe Annual Coordination Meeting.

Multi-country recalls of several infant nutrition products (different batches, products, and brands) are ongoing following the detection of cereulide, a toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

With avian influenza A(H5N1) widely circulating in wild birds and poultry, and repeatedly detected in mammals, Dutch public health authorities report that antibodies indicating past exposure have been identified in milk from a dairy cow in the Netherlands.

After breast cancer, cervical cancer is the most common cancer among young women in Europe, and human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. During Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, ECDC highlights the good news that in combination with routine cervical screening, HPV vaccination can prevent cervical cancer.

ECDC launches new Accession Support Action for EU candidate countries to strengthen communicable disease capacities to implement EU acquis in surveillance, public health emergency preparedness, and advance One Health responses against antimicrobial resistance, 2026–2029.

As the EU initiative on Health Security reaches its conclusion, an online resource remains available for partners and stakeholders.

Every month ECDC provides detailed epidemiological overview of the worldwide transmission of mpox in its weekly threat report.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published public health considerations regarding the use of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as doxy-PEP, for the prevention of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Three new European Union reference laboratories are now in place to improve Europe’s response to health threats linked to food- and waterborne diseases. They will help national public health laboratories to improve testing, data quality and preparedness across the EU for the next seven years.

Since April 2012, and as of 5 January 2025, a total of 2 647 MERS cases, including 959 deaths, have been reported by health authorities worldwide.

Samir Hadjiabduli, Chief Migration Health Officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Egypt, shared insights on strengthening health security in migration and mobility contexts during a regional workshop on health challenges linked to mass population displacements taking place on 16–18 December 2025.

Every month ECDC provides detailed epidemiological overview of the worldwide transmission of chikungunya virus disease in its weekly threat report (Communicable Diseases Threat Report).

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), together with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, concluded a three-day regional workshop on Strengthening preparedness and response and the provision of healthcare services in relation to humanitarian crises affecting displaced populations.

Every month ECDC provides detailed epidemiological overview of the worldwide transmission of dengue in its weekly threat report (Communicable Diseases Threat Report).

The 2025/26 influenza season has begun earlier than the previous two seasons, driven by the recently-emerged influenza virus A(H3N2) subclade K.