Salmonella the most common cause of foodborne outbreaks in the European Union

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control released their Annual Report entitled—“The European Union One Health 2018 Zoonoses Report”, published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). They reported that in 2018, the EU Member States reported 5,146 foodborne outbreaks affecting 48,365 people. Salmonella caused nearly one in three foodborne outbreaks in the EU in 2018. Slovakia, Spain and Poland accounted for 67% of the 1,581 Salmonella outbreaks. These outbreaks were mainly linked to eggs. Salmonellosis was the second most commonly reported gastrointestinal infection in the EU (91,857 cases reported), after campylobacteriosis (246,571). Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) has become the third most common cause of foodborne zoonotic disease with 8,161 reported cases – replacing yersiniosis with a 37% increase compared to 2017. This increase may be partly explained by the growing use of new laboratory technologies, making the detection of sporadic cases easier. The number of people affected by listeriosis in 2018 is similar to 2017 (2,549 in 2018 against 2,480 the previous year). However, the trend has been upward over the past ten years. Of the zoonotic diseases covered by the report, listeriosis accounts for the highest proportion of hospitalized cases (97%) and the highest number of deaths (229). Making listeriosis one of the most serious foodborne diseases. @ http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/salmonella-most-common-cause-foodborne-outbreaks-european-union