Key words: food- and water-borne diseases, European Union, surveillance, response

The thesis provides an understanding of food- and water-borne diseases surveillance and outbreak response in the European Union and investigates possible ways to strengthen related processes and information technology systems. Four areas of actions were identified: collaboration among experts from the same or different sectors; information technology systems in place and the possibilities to expand their scope and better integrate them; epidemiological methods for detection, reporting and investigation of outbreaks with their challenges and potential new tools to be developed; laboratory methods for detection and investigation of outbreaks, with their limitations and arising new laboratory technologies.