"The role of doctors and healthcare workers in direct contact with parents and children is paramount," said ECDC Director Dr. Marc Sprenger at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany. Speaking at a panel on 'Bridging Health Gaps with Vaccines', Dr. Sprenger emphasised that "effective communication (to parents) is important to reinforce trust. Here the support of paediatricians, family practitioners and nurses is essential."
He presented the situation of measles in Europe. "Measles is re-emerging in Europe – and in a dramatic way. In 2010 alone, more than 30,000 cases of measles were reported in the EU." He added that some people think that it is a 'fairly harmless disease.' But statistics from the ECDC European monthly measles monitoring report states that there are eight measles-related deaths and 24 acute measles encephalitis in EU countries from this year alone. In addition, around 25 percent of those affected with measles need hospitalisation, due to complications such as pneumonia and high fever in young children.
ECDC is committed to support doctors and healthcare workers with effective communication tools, to provide expert advice and methods regarding how to monitor and assess immunisation programmes. To this end, the ECDC will organise workshops for Member States to share experiences and best practices and provide data for action.
The World Health Summit was held from 23-26 October 2011 in Berlin.
For more information, please visit: www.worldhealthsummit.org
