Brussels, 28/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 28 September, the European Commission adopted a communication on the revised International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR), due to enter into force in June 2007. The IHR is an important legal instrument which aims to prevent and control the international spread of disease, while avoiding unnecessary interference with traffic and trade. The Commission's communication covers early application of flu-related aspects, as proposed by the World Health Assembly. It also clarifies the EU's role in IHR implementation and recalls the limits the IHR places on national policy responses. It is intended to stimulate Member States to develop and share their own plans for implementing these important regulations.
The EU itself is not a party to the IHR but, according to the Commission, the Union and its member States can and should work together to optimise IHR implementation in the context of the EU policies and health-related actions and initiatives. In particular, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the EU Early Warning and Response System for public health threats (EWRS) can help to implement the IHR in a stronger and more coherent manner. The Communication proposes a number of working practices in this respect, as well as a memorandum of understanding with the World Health Organisation to ensure these arrangements are properly defined. It also calls for a common EU approach to IHR reservations.
In May this year, the World Health Assembly called for countries to comply as soon as possible with the IHR provisions considered relevant to the risk posed by avian and potential human pandemic influenza. The communication defines the specific aspects identified for early application and describes the EU context in order to promote a common approach.
In 1951, the member nations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted the first International Sanitary Regulations. Revised the first time in 1969, they have been amended and modified four times since then, most recently in 2005. The EU Member States and the Commission played an active part in negotiations on the 2005 revision, and the new IHR is the most comprehensive yet. Instead of limiting itself to a list of diseases (only cholera, plague and yellow fever were covered in the past), the new IHR introduces the broader concept of “public health emergencies of international concern” to cover existing, new and re-emerging diseases, including emergencies caused by non-infectious disease agents. Important changes were also made on arrangements for notifying and verifying emergencies, national focal points, definition of core capacities, and WHO recommended measures in response to public health emergencies.