This is no joke. The danger of a mutation of the virus is a real and present risk. The EU decision is a prudent and intelligent one.

The European Union will on Friday take another step towards creating an early warning system to prevent, or at least to limit, an influenza pandemic by the launch of a new continent-wide monitoring system. Establishing a round- the-clock surveillance network to identify any European outbreaks will be the first task for the newly created European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which becomes operational in Solna, nearStockholm, on Friday.
Financial Times