Strengthening Europe's epidemic intelligence capacity: the first collaboration between a European Union Member State and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has a mandate to identify, assess and communicate current and emerging threats to human health from communicable diseases in the European Union (EU) [1]. The identification of threats is undertaken through the use of 'epidemic intelligence', the systematic collection and collation of information from a variety of sources, usually in real-time, which is then verified and analysed and, if necessary, activates response. .