The report published in March 2015 by Medecins sans frontières speaks out clearly against the “global coalition of inaction” and the “vacuum of leadership” in the Ebola crisis in West Africa. Those who were struggling in the field against a huge and out-of-control emergency, without the necessary resources, list the main causes of such a situation: lack of political will, inexperience, and, sometimes, simply fear.
On October 14-17, Milan will host the 8th European Public Health Conference, organized by the European Public Health Conference Foundation, the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SITI).
Viruses and bacteria are not the only ones to spread during an epidemic. Rumours and misinformation can do that too, eventually leading to the constitution of a parallel information system that could undermine the efficacy of the institutional communication. Similar situations often arise in case of contested knowledge or when only few highly technical experts are left dealing with scientific information.
The Health Department of the European Commission will organise a conference for Member States and partners on lessons to be learned from the Ebola epidemic. The event is organised in close collaboration with the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council and will take place in Mondorf-les-Bains from 12 to 14 October 2015. There will be four sessions, each of them focusing on a specific topic:
Epidemics may spread fast and since we are constantly improving our transportation possibilities, virus and bacteria are taking advantage of that. For centuries, harbours have been critical junctions through which diseases moved and diffused, and this led to the construction of specific buildings to isolate those who were sick or suspected of being infected. Nowadays we also have airports and much more persons moving all around the world, increasing the potential spread of infectious agents.
