During the handling of the E. coli outbreak in Germany, “[c]oordination of the German public health response seems to have been utterly absent,” a Lancet editorial states, adding, “But one should also ask: where was the European Centres of Disease Prevention and Control? … From the public’s point of view, no visible collaboration seems to have taken place.”

The editorial concludes, “Once this immediate crisis subsides, there is a strong case for a European-wide review of national and continental responses to infectious disease outbreaks. Europe can do much better” (6/11).