EU prepares new guidelines for monitoring swine flu

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is planning to issue new surveillance advice to national health authorities on the A/H1N1 influenza pandemic.

The guidelines, which were examined at a working group meeting at the Stockholm based centre on 14-15 July, update advice first issued last November and are expected to be implemented by the end of August.

Because the virus has spread, some countries have decided to extend through the summer their winter practice of monitoring seasonal influenza, whereby data are recorded for all …