EMPERIE · European Management Platform for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious disease Entities

The EMPERIE (European Management Platform for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious disease Entities) consortium has its roots in the lessons learned by the majority of the participating centres during the recent SARS and HPAI H5N1 outbreaks. The mission of EMPERIE is “to contribute to effectively countering the potential public health threat caused by new and emerging infectious diseases in Europe by establishing a powerful network capable of structural and systematic prediction, identification, modelling and surveillance of infectious diseases health threats and pathogens”. In pursuit of this mission EMPERIE will establish a network of centres of excellence combining the expertise, techniques and resources necessary for effectively countering (re)-emerging infectious diseases. We will establish common processes, procedures and communication channels in the network linked to relevant stakeholder organisations and local “grass root”” sites to contribute to a structural and systematic prediction, identification, modelling and surveillance of (re-)emerging infectious disease health threats and pathogens. Our focus will be new zoonotic viruses that may cause epidemics and viruses already present – but yet unrecognised- in humans. Within this focus, we will attain proof of principle of the functioning of the network and the techniques, systems, procedures and resources in the following RNA viruses: Flaviviruses (e.g. Dengue, West-Nile virus), Alphaviruses (e.g. Chikungunya), Orthomyxoviruses (e.g. Influenza), Paramyxoviruses (e.g Henipah,) Coronaviruses, Bunyaviruses ( e.g. hantavirus) and Filoviruses