‘Exchange of Experts’ programme for European Neighbourhood Policy partner countries kicks off with Belgium and Tunisia on Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
In the framework of the EU Initiative on Health Security, ECDC and the EU Member States set up an ‘Exchange of Experts’ programme aiming to provide experts from European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries with opportunities to learn from the experiences of EU Member States within specific disease areas, and in turn, share their own experiences.
The first ‘Exchange of Experts’ meeting took place in May 2023 between Belgium and Tunisia and focused on the Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). The event was hosted by the University of Antwerp, Belgium, with the support of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to exchange information on the challenges posed by CJD and discuss the requirements to set up surveillance for CJD and a national reference centre for laboratory tests. The Tunisian representatives explained about the establishment of a national committee to assess the risk for public health, as a response to a report of three camels with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) in Algeria in 2018.
The National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases in Tunisia has been tasked to establish laboratory support for the diagnosis of CJD. The meeting provided the participants with valuable insights on the laboratory methods that are used in the public health sector for CJD and the veterinary sector for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). It paved the way for future bilateral collaborations, which was envisioned by both countries.
EU Initiative on Health Security
Since 2020, ECDC has been implementing the EU Initiative on Health Security which aims to set up a competent regional workforce for the prevention and control of challenges posed by communicable diseases and enhance regional cooperation to tackle cross-border health security threats in EU candidate, potential candidate and ENP partner countries.
