Press Release: Stronger global defences against epidemics: Markos Kyprianou welcomes new WHO agreement

Markos Kyprianou, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, welcomed the agreement reached at the World Health Assembly on 20 May 2005 to strengthen international co-operation against infectious disease outbreaks. Health ministers and senior officials from 192 countries agreed to new rules requiring all major public health events of international concern to be reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). This would include major disease outbreaks, and also suspected 'bio-terrorism' events (i.e. the deliberate release of biological pathogens). Co-operation in responding to such events would also be strengthened by the revised International Health Regulations (IHR) adopted on the same day.

On 27 May in Stockholm a new EU agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), was to be officially launched.

• Primary Source

WHO: News release, 23 May 2005, World Health Assembly adopts New International Health Regulations http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr_wha03/en/index.html

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