Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 10, Issue 18, 05 May 2005

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s future operational roles in surveillance and preparedness/response were the two main issues discussed at the first meeting of the ECDC Advisory Forum on 28 April in Stockholm

Aceh Province, Indonesia (population 4.8 million) was the area most severely affected by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami of 26 December 2004. Extensive loss of life, property, and livelihood in 14 of the 21 districts of the province left a large segment of the population without basic needs and vulnerable to epidemic-prone diseases.

Recent experiments have shown that the transplantation of organs from genetically modified pigs into baboons can yield moderate to good results and has raised hopes of future success of xenotransplantation

To prevent and control outbreaks of avian influenza in Europe, the Commission has proposed legislation that, if approved, will require European Union member states to introduce or reinforce surveillance and control measures against these low pathogenic viruses