The European Commission’s Task Force on Bioterrorism

T deliberate release of anthrax in the United States of America in September and October 2001 completely changed the international perception of the risk of bioterrorism. Before that time, public health preparedness for bioterrorism was not a political priority in the European Union (EU) member states. Preparedness and response plans and actions have since been given a higher priority on EU member agendas. Bioterrorism also initiated a discussion on the need to improve preparedness through reinforcing existing public health structures that are in charge of monitoring and controlling diseases. On October 19, 2001, at the European Council in Ghent, Belgium, the Council of Ministers of the EU and the European Commission (EC) were asked by the heads of state and government to prepare a program to improve the cooperation between member states for the evaluation of risks, alerts, and intervention, the storage of the necessary means, and the collaboration in the field of research. In parallel with these developments at the European level, many well-focused national activities were also carried out. Countries reexamined their preparedness plans and adapted them to the new threats, and legislation needed to implement countermeasures was reviewed. The national authorities also discussed the necessity of stockpiling medicines and other medical supplies and most upgraded their stocks of vaccines and antibiotics, especially smallpox vaccine. To improve the ability to recognize a deliberate release, countries developed training programs for different kinds of first responders. On the initiative of the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, the Health Security Committee (HSC) was set up with representatives of the ministries of health from each member state. Following a proposal by the commission, the HSC agreed on December 17, 2001, on a program for cooperation on preparedness and response to biologic and chemical agent attacks (or Health Security Programme). The program comprises 25 actions grouped under four objectives (available from: URL: http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_threats/Bioterrorisme/bioterrorisme_en.htm). The overall goal is to improve cooperation between the member states with the aid of the commission and to facilitate collaboration between the different national authorities involved in public health preparedness for bioterrorism. During this process, gaps in resources and methods are identified and projects initiated to fill these gaps. As is standard practice in many sectors of activity at EU level, existing examples of preparedness in the member states are shared and can be extended or adapted for use throughout the EU. Projects and activities under the health security program are funded through existing funds, especially from the budget foreseen for the EU’s public health programs. Other funds such as from the sixth framework program for research could also be used for activities of relevance to the health security program. Since the beginning of May 2002, a 15-member strong task force has been set up by the Directorate-General of Health and Consumer Protection, comprising nine national experts seconded from different institutions in the EU countries and six commission officials. The task force includes representatives from the Robert Koch Institute and the Paul Erhlich Institute (Germany), the Scientific Institute of Public Health (Belgium), the Swedish Institute for Infectious Diseases Control (SMI, Sweden), the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM, Netherlands), the Hellenic Institute for Infectious Disease Control (Greece), the Italian National Institute for Health (Italy), as well as the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris (France). The task force’s main objective is to implement the health security program. To this end, members have initiated further activities with key players in the member states, some of which are described below. One of the initial priority activities was the setting up of a mechanism for rapid information exchange, consultation, and coordination on all aspects dealing with bioterrorism. All designated authorities of the EU member states have now been connected through this network by means of email, fax, and telephone. This tool makes it possible for the task force and the nine member states to disseminate information rapidly about suspected or confirmed incidents and for national authorities to evaluate measures planned with their implications for EU and for other mem-