WE at the Stakeholder/Expert Meeting "Infectious diseases, Infection control, Vaccines, and Long-Term Care" organized by EICA at Venice

Published on 14 July 2025.

Prof Eva Hummers, WONCA Europe Honorary Secretary, represented WONCA Europe at the EICA (European Interdisciplinary Council on Ageing) https://eica.univiu.org/ Stakeholder Expert Meeting meeting „Infectious diseases, Infection control, Vaccines, and Long-Term Care“  held at Venice International University, San Servolo Island, Venice, Italy, July 9th-11th, 2025

EICA is the European Interdisciplinary Council on Ageing, set up with the support of the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS) https://www.eugms.org/, aimed to diversify the institutional activities in education of non-geriatrician medical specialists caring for older patients, GPs and healthcare workers.

EICA aims to fill an educational gap in the care of older adults, by organizing interdisciplinary activities in geriatrics and age-related issues. In parallel, EICA aims to translate the scientific research results published by the European Community into practical language, to facilitate transfer of the knowledge to decision makers and the wider public

Invitation of WONCA Europe to this meeting was a follow-up of our (Eva Hummers) invited participation in a Technical Meeting of the AIB (Adult Immunization Board, https://www.adultimmunizationboard.org/) organized 7th-8th May 2025 in Warsaw
(Poland).

In the San Servolo Meeting, different aspects on prevention and control of infectious diseases in residents of long term care facilities/nursing homes were presented and discussed (see programme). The main focus was on vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases  (influenza, COVID-19, pneumococcal pneumonia/IPD, RSV, pertussis) and also Herpes Zoster, as well as more general aspects of infection control, for example through infection control committees and trainings in nursing homes. Experts included medical doctors from different fields (geriatrics, hygiene, public health, general practice among others), nurses, and interest groups (EICA, AIB, European Scientific Working group on Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses (ESWI) https://eswi.org /), as well as a representative from European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en, and two industry observers.

The various pieces of research presented allow for some remarkable conclusions:

  • Nursing home/long term care residents are a population vulnerable to infectious diseases. One predominant risk factor is older age. However, the only really relevant other risk factor is the fact of living in a nursing home, rather than any specific morbidities or combination thereof. While this may well be somewhat biased by indication, there also appears to be substantial differences between facilities as to the risk they pose to their inhabitants.

    • The risk associated with living in a nursing home seems to be institutional rather than individual.

    • Adequate building infrastructure, infection-conscious cleaning and laundry routines, contact hygiene and adequate contact management of (index) cases of infection are essential, but not always given sufficient attention.

  • Adults/elderly people’s access to vaccines against respiratory diseases and Herpes Zoster vary considerably between countries. Public recommendations and cost coverage do not necessarily align. Even in countries where vaccinations are  recommended and paid for resident of long term care facilities, coverage is often mediocre. Access can be particularly cumbersome for people living in long term care facilities as they need to rely on various other parties to facilitate vaccination.

  • In long term care facilities, both general infection control measures and better access to vaccinations require defined responsabilities, workflow routines: Who keeps track of vaccination schedules and needs, who initates and organises consent, who actually delivers the vaccinations? This may vary in different healthcare systems, but will require both interprofessional teams and appropriate management.

  • Flu and COVID vaccination coverage among health care providers and other nursing home staff is often poor even when recommended, in particular in staff with less formal education.

  • Interaction between infectious diseases and noncommunicable diseases and the prevention of NCD complications triggered by infection merit further attention.