This edition of the Annual Epidemiological Report presents the surveillance data reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for 2009 and an analysis of the public health threats detected in 2010 through ECDC’s routine epidemic intelligence. The report provides an overview of communicable diseases in the EU and describes areas where a more concerted public health response is required in order to decrease the burden of disease on society and healthcare systems.

The report warns against complacency about infectious diseases, noting some worrying signals:

• There were several significant outbreaks of measles in EU countries during 2009- a clear marker that Europe was on track to miss its target of eliminating measles by 2010.

• Though incidence of TB continued to decline, progress was slow and progress towards achieving bacteriological confirmation of and completed treatment courses for all TB cases in the EU appeared to be limited.

• There were signs of the emergence of new diseases in parts of Europe: West Nile virus might have established itself in parts of south-eastern Europe, and there were a few cases of locally transmitted malaria in one Member State.

• There is growing resistance of pathogens against the most widely used antibiotics.