PhD conferral mw. Céline M. Gossner, MSc
Promotor: prof.dr. C.J.P.A. Hoebe
Co-promotor: dr. B. de Jong, ECDC
“Event-based surveillance and response to food- and water-borne disease outbreaks in the European Union”
Key words: food- and water-borne diseases, European Union, surveillance, response
The thesis provides an understanding of food- and water-borne diseases surveillance and outbreak response in the European Union and investigates possible ways to strengthen related processes and information technology systems. Four areas of actions were identified: collaboration among experts from the same or different sectors; information technology systems in place and the possibilities to expand their scope and better integrate them; epidemiological methods for detection, reporting and investigation of outbreaks with their challenges and potential new tools to be developed; laboratory methods for detection and investigation of outbreaks, with their limitations and arising new laboratory technologies.