The Health Threat Unit of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection (European Commission), is responsible for terrorism surveillance and early warning of biological, chemical, and radiological threats within the European Union. The Health Threat Unit runs the Rapid Alert System, which conducts surveillance on communicable diseases and diseases caused by acts of bioterrorism. The surveillance data are coordinated and evaluated by the Health Emergency Operations Facility. Health threat information and warnings are sent to the member states by the Communication and Crisis Center (BICHAT) and the Security Office in Brussels, Belgium.
The BICHAT sends a warning to the EU member states, within one hour of receiving a warning, when there is:
Besides bioterrorism, the Health Threat Unit also has responsibility for other reportable diseases:
Within the Health Threat Unit, there are seven working groups responsible for various aspects of bio-defense: