Rise in listeriosis infections in humans, campylobacteriosis cases stabilising, decrease in salmonellosis cases: new ECDC/EFSA joint report

​The EFSA-ECDC report, ‘European Union Summary Report on Trends and Sources of Zoonoses, Zoonotic Agents and Food-borne Outbreaks in 2013’, released today covers 16 zoonoses and foodborne outbreaks.

The report shows that listeriosis cases increased by 8.6 percent between 2012 and 2013 and have been increasing over the past five years. “The rise of reported invasive listeriosis cases is of great concern as the infection is acquired mostly from ready-to-eat food and it may lead to death, particularly among the increasing population of elderly people and patients with weakened immunity in Europe”, says Mike Catchpole, the Chief Scientist at ECDC.

Reported cases of campylobacteriosis stabilised to the levels reported in 2012, yet remains the most commonly reported foodborne disease in the EU. In food items, the causative agent, Campylobacter, is mostly found in chicken meat.

Salmonellosis cases fell for the eighth year in a row, with a 7.9 percent decrease in the EU notification rate compared with 2012. The report attributes the decrease to Salmonella control programmes in poultry. In fresh poultry meat, the compliance with EU Salmonella criteria increased – a signal that Member States’ investments in control measures are working.

 

The report is based on data collected by 32 European countries (28 Member States and four non-Member States) and helps the European Commission and EU Member States to monitor, control and prevent zoonotic diseases.