Diary note

What: European Commission, ECDC and WHO press conference about pandemic influenza When and where: 15 May, 10:30 at Uppsala Castle, Sweden

Zsuzsanna Jakab, Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Dr. Marc Danzon, WHO Regional Director for Europe and a speaker from the European Commission will hold a press conference at Uppsala Castle in Uppsala, Sweden. Senior public health officials from more than 50 European countries will be gathered in Uppsala on 15-17 May to agree priorities for improving national and European level preparedness against the possibility of an influenza pandemic and review the current situation regarding avian influenza. Speakers at the press conference will outline their expectations for the meeting and answer questions from journalists. Background The official title of the Uppsala meeting is the Third EU / WHO Workshop on Pandemic Preparedness. It follows up on workshops held in Copenhagen on 24-26 October 2005 and in Luxembourg in 2-3 March 2005. All 52 countries of the WHO European Region have been invited to attend.