Context
Pandemics have had a major impact on the health and security of human populations for millennia. Plague, also known as the Black Death killed one third of Europe’s population in the Middle Ages and Spanish flu which led to over 50 million deaths in the early 20th century are etched into the historical and folk memory.
Since the beginning of the this millennium, a new disease called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) emerged in China in 2003 and spread from Hong Kong through international transport hubs to multiple countries within days causing major disruption and economic damage estimated at €70 billion. The most recent H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009 spread around the world in weeks affecting all continents with significant health, economic, political, social, cultural and environmental consequences. More recently, outbreaks of Zika virus, Ebola and MERS-CoV have caused death, illness and alarm, and led to severe social and economic disruption. In addition, an increasing concern is the accidental and intentional release of dangerous pandemic prone pathogens which poses a major threat to human health and security.
Future epidemics and pandemics are difficult to predict or prevent, but improved preparedness and response can dramatically reduce the disruption they cause. PANDEM brought together experts in public health, security, defence, information technology, communications and law from a range of institutions across Europe to understand more about the current state of preparedness and response, and to make recommendations for future improvements to build capacity.
The overall objectives of PANDEM were to review and assess current best practice for pandemic preparedness and response at national, EU and global level in priority areas of risk assessment, surveillance, communications and public information, governance and legal frameworks. Once gaps had been identified, the next phase was to identify potential areas for improvement, priority research questions, potential technological and systems solutions, and contribute to impact reduction for future pandemics.
