Public Health Policy and Law for Pandemic Influenza: A Case for European Harmonization?

Abstract

This article provides a critical portrait of the current state of public health policies and laws governing pandemic influenza prevention and control in Europe. It examines the role of and relationship between national public health policy and national communicable disease legislation as tools for the prevention and control of pandemic influenza, the role of Europe in pandemic disease preparedness, and the concept of harmonization across European states, including an overview of supranational initiatives and powers created to enhance harmonization of national pandemic disease policy. Short case studies epitomize important concerns around harmonization in Europe. The article considers opportunities and impediments to further harmonization. Particular attention is paid to the essential role of law as a tool to underpin and implement preparedness policies and to protect individual rights against unjustified state intervention.

Promoting public health legal preparedness for emergencies: review of current trends and their relevance in light of the Ebola crisis

“…In such situations, the law, which is a small but crucial component of emergency preparedness ( 8 , 17 ), assumes increased importance ( 18 – 20 ). The speed with which viruses spread makes it imperative to ensure that a legal framework is in place to delineate mechanisms for effective epidemic management, within the country itself as well as globally ( 17 , 21 , 22 ). Accordingly, efforts and reforms in this direction have been proposed and implemented worldwide, in developed countries as well as LMICs ( 17 ) from the United States to China ( 23 ).…”

European Civil Security Governance

“…This is especially marked in situations of limited supply (Martin and Conseil, 2012). The need to decide on priority groups over longer term and over the whole of the population also makes the issue more politically challenging compared to a 'classical' disaster management, where for example the criteria for evacuation are much more clear-cut (as in a case of floods).…”

“…Not all countries took the decision to regard the protection of everyone as their public health goal (Martin and Conseil, 2012, pp. 1106-1107.…”

“…Thus, there is a tension between nationally focused efforts and coordinative demands. Although the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have played an important role in enhancing uniformity and coherence of national pandemic strategies across Europe, significant differences still exist in pandemic influenza policies of the European countries (Martin and Conseil, 2012). Agencies such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control are instrumental in the harmonization of disaster management, but when it comes to pandemics there is little interaction between the policies and legislations of many member states.…”

Bacteria without Borders: Communicable Disease Politics in Europe

“…The formal existence of organizations need not coincide with their actual ability to fulfill their assigned roles in everyday life or emergencies. Our relatively few benchmarking studies find many systems that apparently fail to carry out basic recommended activities (Mounier-Jack and Coker 2006; Reintjes et al 2007;Martin and Conseil 2012) as well as wide variation in public health capacities (Brand 2011) and vaccination rates (Mereckiene et al 2010). Few studies pay much attention to the role of security bureaucracies whose engagement in public health is motivated by fears of bioterrorism.…”