Meeting Report: European pandemic influenza planning assumptions

Meeting held 20–21 January 2009 This focused meeting held at ECDC was to bring together some of those engaged in formulating these assumptions at a European level with the specific objectives of: 1. gathering together the assumptions used in and within countries (national versus local perspective) and those recommended by international bodies; 2. discussing which assumptions are useful for planners; 3. discussing the differences in assumptions among European countries and whether they matter; 4. identifying gaps and agreeing on whether or not a European consensus on planning assumption ranges would be useful and what further work should be undertaken. The meeting concluded that it would not be desirable to reach consensus on a single set of European planning assumptions but that there could usefully be agreement on the underlying technical parameters.