This exercise is a Tabletop Exercise (TTX) created in 2007.

Exercise Red Wing was created to explore draft procedures for contact tracing of passengers proposed by the working group of the Health Security Committee. (Standard operating procedure for passenger tracing in a case of a potential exposure to a communicable disease occurring in a Member State of the European Union after an international flight”).

The objectives of the exercise were:

1. To explore contact tracing procedures within the EU, based on the draft paper developed by the working group of the Health Security Committee.

2. To explore the reaction of stakeholders to an event which might require international contact tracing within the European Union based on the draft paper developed by the working group of the Health Security Committee.

3. To clarify the collaboration mechanisms, roles and responsibilities between member states and between member states and European co-ordinating bodies.

4.  To explore the procedures required by the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the role of WHO in outbreaks of notifiable infectious disease within the European Union boundary.

5. Explore the role of ECDC in an event which might require international contact tracing within the European Union based on the draft paper developed by the working group of the Health Security Committee.

Duration: 1 day (7 hours)

Related keywords: Ebola, Flight, International contact tracing, Health Security Committee, Outbreak Response, Cross-border, International Health Regulation (IHR),

This exercise is a Tabletop Exercise created in 2008.

The overarching aim of Exercise Blue Triangle was to test the standard operating procedures for the response to a food and waterborne disease threat at an EU level, developed by the ECDC Preparedness and Response Unit together with the Food and Waterborne Disease Horizontal Programme.

The agreed objectives of the exercise can be summarised as following:

1. To test the capacity/co-ordination for early detection and response of a food and waterborne disease (FWD) threat at an EU level
2. To test the functionality of ECDC guidelines for response to a FWD threat (Guiding Principles, in particular, Part II: Food and Waterborne Disease Threats at EU level).
3. Examine how a FWD is detected in the early stages and how subsequent co-ordination and response is managed.
4. To test how the threat assessment is developed from different sources of information.
5. Test the co-ordination and response with other stakeholders.
6. Test how ECDC coordinates with Member States and the European Commission in the response to an incident of this nature
7. Test the capabilities of the European ad hoc response team to produce a timely initial threat assessment
8. To analyse the existing internal ECDC command, control and communication structure during an EU level FWD outbreak

Duration: 1 day (8 hours)

Related keywords: non-O157 Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, food and waterborne diseases, Early detection, Outbreak Response, Cross-border, Co-ordinated response, .

The overall aim of this course is to strengthen capacity in the application of scientific principles and concepts to inform and influence policy making decisions related to the prevention and control of communicable diseases among public health specialists in Member States of the European Union (EU) and of the European Economic Area (EEA). 

This includes knowledge of retrieval, analysis and appraisal of evidence from all data sources so that participants can make an informed decision about its quality and relevance for their work, and building participants’ skills in designing knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) strategies to support evidence-informed decision making (EIDM). 

The course will bring together country experts to exchange experiences, views and gain skills on how to inform policy makers in relation to detection, preparedness, assessment and control of public health threats with a cross-border dimension at the EU-level in the area of communicable disease prevention and control. It focuses primarily on the process of gathering and communicating a body of evidence, rather than the process of taking decisions based on this evidence.

This course is designed to target individuals with no prior knowledge of Rapid Risk Assessment (RRA). It may also be used as a refreshment module prior to advanced courses in Risk Assessment.

⏳ Duration: 3-5 hours

👥 Audience: Public health professionals 

🎯 Objectives: After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Recognise components (steps) in rapid risk assessment production,
• Describe what is expected to be done in each step and,
  
• Contribute to a team working on rapid risk assessment production.
  

This exercise is a <Type of Exercise>

It was created in <year of creation>

The aim is XXXX and the objectives of the exercise are:

• <Objective 1>
• <Objective 2>
• <Objective 3>

Duration:

Number of participants:

Related keywords:

This exercise is a Functional Exercise (FX) created in 2007.

Exercise Brown Lagoon was a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) initiative designed to provide an opportunity to review and practice internal procedures and systems to deal with major public health events.

The objectives of the exercise were:

1. To test the equipment of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)
2. To test internal procedures (technical and functional) for all Public Health Event (PHE) phasing (alert phase, acute phase, maintenance phase and recovery phase) or at least the first two phases, as described in the PHE Operation plan
3. To test internal procedures for the up-scaling of activity from levels 0 to 2 including staffing and functions
4. To test command and control in a PHE

Duration: 2 days

Related keywords: Norovirus, Diphtheria, Outbreak Response, Cross-border

This exercise is a Functional Exercise (FX) created in 2008.

The overreaching aim of Exercise Green Field was to test, evaluate and refine standard operating procedures in response to an emerging and escalating Public Health Emergency (PHE) involving EU Member States (MS). (This exercise was conducted after an internal exercise that took place in 2007 where the ECDC  Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) facilities and Public Health Operations Plan were tested)

Duration: 1 day and half (11 hours).

Related keywords: Public Health Events (PHE), Public Health Event Operation Plan (PHEOP), Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), Meningitis, Outbreak response

The aim of Exercise Orange Circle was to explore procedures and functions regarding early detection, assessment and communication associated with events related to a Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD) or immunisation programmes.

1. To test the coordination and internal communication among ECDC units and horizontal programme, and external communications with Member States and relevant stakeholders.
2. To explore early detection mechanisms.
3. To assess internal and external coordination of the threat assessment.
4. To manage the closure of a VPD event.
   

Duration: 1 day (7 hours).

Related keywords: Vaccine Preventable Disease, VPD, meningococcal disease, meningococcal vaccination, vaccine.

This exercise is a Functional Exercise (FX) created in the 2009.

The overarching aim of the exercise was to explore ECDC’s ability to communicate about early detection and risk assessment, with Member States (MS) and international partners in a public health event at a mass gathering.

The overarching objectives of this exercise were:

1. To test the internal and external communications between ECDC’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and the equivalent structures of emergency centres in participating countries and organisations through tools, communications systems and equipment.
2. Test the ECDC Public Health Event Operation Plan (PHEOP) up to Level 2, including staff planning, rotation, handover and support arrangements.
3. Test the mass gathering algorithm currently under development by EpiConcept at National level.

Duration: 2 days (30 hours)

This Exercise is a Functional Exercise (FX) created in 2010.

The aim of the exercise was to test, evaluate and refine the use of EPIS as a communication platform tool. Focussing on the Food and Waterborne Disease (FWD) Network the exercise tested its use for the detection, assessment, response and communication of a FWD health threat with EU and international dimension.

Its objectives were focussed in two main points:

• EPIS specific area for the FWD Network
• Its contribution to the ECDC mandate on early detection, assessment, response and communication of public health events

Duration: 1 day (7 hours)  

Related keywords:  Food and Waterborne Disease (FWD), EPIS, Preparedness and Response Support Unit (PRU),  Salmonella Typhi.

This Exercise is a Functional Exercise (FX) created in 2012.

The aim of the exercise was to test the Public Health Emergency Operation Plan (PHEOP) management system (including the intranet and supporting documents) in order to evaluate and refine it.

The exercise objectives were to:

1. Test the PHEOP including PHE Management Structure.
2. Test the command structure during PHE levels 1 and 2.
3. Test the escalation to PHE level 2. Test all the relevant Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
4. Test the use of checklists, job action sheets, log, report templates, minute templates and the rapid risk assessment template.
5. Test the new PHE intranet system.
6. Test the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to allow for routine epidemic intelligence and response duties to continue during a PHE level 2 event.
7. Test internal and external communications during a PHE.
8. Test BC arrangements during a PHE.

Duration: 2 days (17 hours)

Related keywords: Measles, H5N1, Public Health Emergency management, Standard Operation Procedures, Epidemic Intelligence, Polio, ECDC.

This exercise is a Functional Exercise (FX) created in 2013.

The aim of the exercise was to provide ECDC staff with the opportunity to use and implement the Public Health Emergency Operational Plan (PHEOP) and to test supporting documents, tools and templates.

The objectives of exercise were:

1. to increase the knowledge of the PHE concept, procedures and command structure;
2. to familiarise ECDC staff with their roles and responsibilities during a PHE;
3. to identify any gaps in PHE response arrangements.

Duration: 1 day (8.5 hours)

Related keywords:  Public Health Emergency Operational Plan (PHEOP),  Public Health Emergency, Standard Operation Plan (SOP), Ebola, cross-border threat,  algal bloom.

This exercise is a Table Top Exercise (TTX) created in 2016.

This exercise differs from the other exercises in this library in its approach. With a strong focus on capacity building, it takes participants through the various steps in a facilitated fashion.

The aim of this exercise was: To exercise the public health emergency preparedness of the participating countries to a major outbreak of mosquito-borne viral disease, of both national and international dimensions.

The objectives of the exercise were:

1. In-country emergency recognition and management: detect and risk assess the situation, activate emergency organisation and plans, manage and monitor the emergency;
2. Inter-sectoral collaboration: work effectively between the health and key related sectors, to assess the risks and manage the emergency;
3. International collaboration: interact effectively with contiguous and other countries in the wider region, and international authorities, to assess, manage, communicate and work collaboratively to address, mitigate and resolve the international emergency;
4. Risk communication: to communicate effectively regarding the health risks, between stakeholders, professionals and the public.
5. Review and evaluation: for each country to reflect on potential lessons from the exercise relating to their present state of preparedness for public health emergencies, involving mosquito borne viral diseases in particular, and for communicable disease events more generally.

Duration: 1 days (7.5 hours)

Related keywords:

This course is designed to target individuals with no prior knowledge in Outbreak Investigation, however it will be especially useful to those with 1-2 years experience in public health. It may also be used as a refreshment module prior to advanced courses in Outbreak Investigation.

This online course has been developed since seasonal influenza vaccination of health care workers (HCWs) is recommended in Europe but vaccination uptake remains low in most countries. During the course information about influenza disease, protection against influenza, tools to assess vaccine uptake and barriers to vaccination as well as stimulating examples of successful campaigns will be presented. 

(The course is open from 22^th October 2018. The course is self paced with no moderation)

⏳ Duration: 2-3 hours

👥 Audience: Health promoters

🎯 Objectives: It is our hope that a community of vaccination campaign organisers will be built in Europe that can help inspire each other to create informative and effective seasonal influenza vaccination campaigns year after year.

The Senior Exchange Initiative provides the participants with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with working methods of other EU countries, and allows the host sites to share their experience, and build closer links to other institutions. The initiative aims at creating a network and trust among colleagues and supporting the European dimension in public health through cooperation and training.

The exchange visits are self-organised, meaning the visiting expert and the host site agree on topics, scope and objectives, and should be scheduled for about one week. ECDC funds travel, accommodation and per diem.

You will find course material that you may use to offer a training for your target audience. Your target audience could include <...>. 

👥 Audience: Trainers in the field of <...>

🎯 Objectives: Learning objectives of the training material are to:

• Explain the rationale, key elements and steps of <...>
• Apply basic concepts of  <...> in the development implementation and evaluation of <...>
• Design and implement <...>
• Identify and select appropriate indicators, methods and tools for <...>

You will find training material that you may use to offer a training for your target audience. Your target audience could include national coordinators of point prevalence surveys (PPS).

👥 Audience: Trainers in the field of Point Prevalence Survey

🎯 Objectives: The learning objectives of this training material are to:

• Appreciate the aims, objectives & methodology of EU PPS;
• Recognise healthcare-associated infections (HAI) using standard EU PPS case definitions;
• Understand the concept of reliability in the context of the EU PPS;
• Enter and export data EU PPS data in HELICS-Win;
• Describe the best approach, organisation and training techniques to deliver training on the ECDC protocol for PPS for a short course aimed at hospital staff;
• Describe and discuss the principles of and approaches to training with adult learners and the importance of learning styles;
• Critically evaluate the training approaches for working with groups, including questioning strategies to ensure engagement and understanding;
• Identify and utilise approaches to evaluation of training.

You will find training material that you may use to offer a training for your target audience. Your target audience could include senior epidemiologists working in surveillance and outbreak investigation of VPDs. The expectation is that the course materials will improve the capacity of the participants to become trainers in vaccinology.

👥 Audience: Trainers in the field of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD)

🎯 Objectives: The objectives of this training material are to:

• Become familiar with interactive and adult learning methods, e.g. case studies;
• Be able to lecture on surveillance, outbreak investigation and applied epidemiological research of VPD;
• Be able to facilitate case studies in these areas
• Be able to define the target audience and to adjust material/contents;
• Mobilise resources (human, budget, etc.) to organise training in this area.

You will find materials that you may use to offer a training for your target audience.Your target audience could be multidisciplinary, consisting of mid-career and/or senior experts in the area of public health, particularly those dealing with Legionnaires’ disease.

👥 Audience: Trainers in the field of Legionnaires’ disease:

🎯 Objectives: The learning objectives of this training material is to strengthen the participant’s knowledge and skills in order to improve the collaboration and communication among the different disciplines (microbiology, environmental health and epidemiology) involved in a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak investigation and control.

You will find course material that you may use to offer a training for your target audience. Your target audience could include health communicators with an interest on antimicrobial resistance and prudent use of antibiotics. 

👥 Audience: Trainers in the field of development, implementation and evaluation of prudent antibiotic use campaigns

🎯 Objectives: Learning objectives of the training material are to:

• Understand and explain the rationale, key elements and steps required to develop behaviour change communication campaigns on prudent antibiotic use
• Understand and apply basic social marketing concepts in the development implementation and evaluation of behaviour change communication campaigns on prudent antibiotic use
• Design and implement behaviour change communication campaigns on prudent antibiotic use
• Identify and select appropriate indicators, methods and tools for evaluation of behaviour change communication campaigns on prudent antibiotic use
• design and implement an evaluation work plan for behaviour change communication campaigns on prudent antibiotic use.

Find instructions on how to enrol in an open training activity in EVA.

This course aims to help public health professionals strengthen their skills in writing, reviewing and editing scientific abstracts. You can follow the lectures, take the exercises and participate to Forum discussions in your own time.

The only elements that are fixed in time will be the deadlines for your assignments. Please plan your learning activities in such a way, that you will be able to submit the assignments in time. Missing the deadline means that you cannot participate in the follow up learning activities. We will help remind you of the deadlines during the course in the Forums and on this course page.

Please take the time for the pre-course survey and also use the Support Forum to raise questions and share ideas on the course.

The workshop aims to support Enlargement countries in raising awareness on the risks and prevention measures of Legionnaires' disease in the tourism sector for commercial accommodation sites. This train-the-trainers workshop will provide a practical training for national experts working on Legionnaires’ disease to enable them to facilitate and deliver an information seminar in their country’s language and legislative setting. 

⏳ Duration: 2 days

📌Location: Montenegro 13 and 14th September 2023

👥 Audience: The participation in this course will be based on the ongoing framework of ECDC Technical EU Pre-accession. Through this framework, ECDC will invite 3-4 designated representatives from EU enlargement country. The invited participants will have previous experience in:

Legionnaires’ disease epidemiology and preferably nominated for ECDC EPIS ELDSNet access; Environmental sampling, laboratory testing or control of Legionella bacteria; Communication, training or prevention awareness activities; Implementing local/regional level action in responding to Legionella cases/outbreaks or site investigations.

🔑 Participation: This course is not open for public enrolment and participation is through invitation. 

🎯 Objectives: After completing this course, the participants will be able to:

Write here a short description of the course objectives.

This will be visible to participants even before they are enrolled in the course.