The European Union One Health 2020 Zoonoses Report

Abstract

This report of the EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control presents the results of zoonoses monitoring activities carried out in 2020 in 27 EU Member States (MS) and nine non-MS. Key statistics on zoonoses and zoonotic agents in humans, food, animals and feed are provided and interpreted historically. Two events impacted 2020 MS data collection and related statistics: the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. In 2020, the first and second most reported zoonoses in humans were campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis, respectively. The EU trend for confirmed human cases of these two diseases was stable (flat) from 2016 to 2020. Fourteen of the 26 MS reporting data on Salmonella control programmes in poultry met the reduction targets for all poultry categories. Salmonella results for carcases of various species performed by competent authorities were more frequently positive than own-checks conducted by food business operators. This was also the case for Campylobacter quantification results from broiler carcases for the MS group that submitted data from both samplers, whereas overall at EU level, those percentages were comparable. Yersiniosis was the third most reported zoonosis in humans, with 10-fold less cases reported than salmonellosis, followed by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Listeria monocytogenes infections. Illnesses caused by L. monocytogenes and West Nile virus infections were the most severe zoonotic diseases with the highest case fatality. In 2020, 27 MS reported 3,086 foodborne outbreaks (a 47.0% decrease from 2019) and 20,017 human cases (a 61.3% decrease). Salmonella remained the most frequently reported causative agent for foodborne outbreaks. Salmonella in 'eggs and egg products', norovirus in 'crustaceans, shellfish, molluscs and products containing them' and L. monocytogenes in 'fish and fish products' were the agent/food pairs of most concern. This report also provides updates on tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis or Mycobacterium caprae, Brucella, Trichinella, Echinococcus, Toxoplasma, rabies, Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) and tularaemia.

The European Union Summary Report on Antimicrobial Resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food in 2019–2020

“…and E. coli ) and comments that the potential for such transmission should be recognised (WHO, 2019 ). In 2020, salmonellosis was the second most common food‐borne zoonosis in the European Union, with 54,702 confirmed human cases (a significant drop compared to 2019 most likely as a result of the pandemic), as well as the most frequent cause of food‐borne outbreaks accounting for 23% of all food‐borne outbreaks reported in 2020 (EFSA and ECDC, 2021b ). A recent review inferred that multidrug resistant NTS infections may have more serious human health implications compared to those of pan‐susceptible strains (Parisi et al., 2018 ).…”

Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli and Milk Fat Globules

“…Likewise, there were 7 versus 16, 8 versus 26, and 4 versus 49 dairy-related and meat-related notifications, respectively, in 2015, 2016, and 2017 [ 23 ]. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have shown that this class of product is only a minor source of human enteric infection [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Interestingly, prevalence data on these enteropathogens in dairy matrices and ingestion-related outbreaks do not fit overall foodborne-related outbreak figures [ 26 ].…”

“…Furthermore, epidemiological studies have shown that this class of product is only a minor source of human enteric infection [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Interestingly, prevalence data on these enteropathogens in dairy matrices and ingestion-related outbreaks do not fit overall foodborne-related outbreak figures [ 26 ]. A study led by Douëllou et al [ 27 ] showed that there were no differences in the key virulence properties of dairy STEC isolates compared with human isolates.…”

Genetic Diversity and Relationships of Listeria monocytogenes Serogroup IIa Isolated in Poland

“…Listeria monocytogenes is responsible for a foodborne disease in humans called listeriosis, which is characterized by a high mortality rate [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. According to the recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) report, in 2020, a total of 1876 confirmed listeriosis cases in humans in the European Union, with the notification rate of 0.42 per 100,000 population, were noted [ 5 ]. Among them, 62 infections (0.16 notification rate) were identified in Poland.…”