Celebrating 20 years of ECDC

Protecting Europe against disease for Since its establishment in 2005, ECDC has worked to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. Let's take a look at our journey: IN THE BEGINNING OUR JOURNEY 11 22 25 SARS fatality rate during the 2002-3 outbreak. This showed the speed at which a pathogen could emerge, spread across borders, and take lives, prompting the EU to take action. KEY OUTBREAKS ECDC EVOLUTION % 2005 ECDC opens ECDC’s office opens in Stockholm in Sweden with just 30 staff. 2005 Number of months it took for ECDC to be set up from the introduction of draft legislation to its opening in May 2005. This was record time for an EU agency. 2008 TESSy The European Surveillance system (TESSy) is launched, providing a one-stop shop for all surveillance data collected by ECDC in Europe and worldwide. 2009 Swine flu At its peak in October, there were 100 000 cases a week in the EU. ECDC activated its Emergency Plan and worked 24/7 providing surveillance and critical updates. Number of member states in the EU when ECDC was opened. Today, there are 27. ECDC was created because the EU’s open borders and growing membership made scientific coordination essential. 2010 2013 “Citizens should know, value, and most importantly, trust ECDC.” Ebola This was the largest ever outbreak of the disease. Starting in West Africa, it would kill over 11 000 people. ECDC sent its experts to West Africa and increased its surveillance of ebola to prevent its...