Health Threat Unit (European Commission)
Encyclopedia
The Health Threat Unit of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection
(European Commission
), is responsible for terrorism surveillance and early warning of biological
, chemical
, and radiological threats
within the European Union
. The Health Threat Unit runs the Rapid Alert System, which conducts surveillance on communicable diseases and diseases caused by acts of bioterrorism
. The surveillance data are coordinated and evaluated by the Health Emergency Operations Facility. Health threat information and warnings are sent to the member states by the Communication and Crisis Center (BICHAT) and the Security Office in Brussels
, Belgium
.
Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection (European Commission)
The Directorate-General for Health and Consumers , formerly Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection and often abbreviated as "SANCO" or "DG-SANCO" for the French words Santé & Consommateurs , is a Directorate-General of the European Commission...
(European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
), is responsible for terrorism surveillance and early warning of biological
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
, chemical
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
, and radiological threats
Nuclear terrorism
Nuclear terrorism denotes the use, or threat of the use, of nuclear weapons or radiological weapons in acts of terrorism, includingattacks against facilities where radioactive materials are present...
within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The Health Threat Unit runs the Rapid Alert System, which conducts surveillance on communicable diseases and diseases caused by acts of bioterrorism
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
. The surveillance data are coordinated and evaluated by the Health Emergency Operations Facility. Health threat information and warnings are sent to the member states by the Communication and Crisis Center (BICHAT) and the Security Office in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Criteria for notification
The BICHAT sends a warning to the EU member states, within one hour of receiving a warning, when there is:- Suspicion of danger
- Internationally relevant events; need for a complex response
- Need for coordination (investigative and control actions)
- Suspicion of deliberate action of a terrorist organization
- Risk of trans-frontier spread of the agent/event
- Need for assistance from other countries
Other responbilities
Besides bioterorism, the Health Threat Unit also has responsibility for other reportable diseases:- Diseases preventable by vaccination
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Viral hepatitis
- Food- and water-borne diseases and diseases of environmental origin
- Air-borne diseases
- Zoonotic diseases
- Diseases transmitted by non-conventional agents
- Serious imported diseases
- Special Health Issues (nosocomial infections; antimicrobial resistance)
Working groups
Within the Health Threat Unit, there are seven working groups responsible for various aspects of bio-defense:- Preparedness and response planning
- Chemical threats
- Prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine
- Incident investigation and sampling
- Medicinal products
- Co-operation between laboratories
- Risk communication
See also
- Global Health Security InitiativeGlobal Health Security InitiativeThe Global Health Security Initiative is an international partnership between countries in order to supplement and strengthen their preparedness to respond to threats of biological, chemical, radio-nuclear terrorism and pandemic influenza....
(GHSI) - Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of TerrorismCouncil of Europe Convention on the Prevention of TerrorismThe Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism 2006 [CECPT] is a regional multilateral treaty negotiated under the auspices of the Council of Europe...
- European BioSafety AssociationEuropean BioSafety AssociationThe European BioSafety Association is a non-profit organization, founded in June 1996, which provides a forum to its members to discuss and debate issues of concern and to represent those working in the field of biosafety and associated activities...
(EBSA) - European Centre for Disease Prevention and ControlEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and ControlThe European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is an independent agency of the European Union aimed at strengthening Europe's defences against infectious diseases. It was established in 2005 and is located in Solna, Sweden....
(ECDC) - European program for intervention epidemiology training (EPIET)
- Health-EU portalHealth-EU portalHealth-EU Portal is an official web portal of the Health and Consumers Directorate-General that facilities the access of public-related health information to European Union citizens....
Source
- Threats to health (European Union)
External links
- Health-EU Portal the official public health portal of the European Union