Brussels, 22/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Cases of human salmonellosis fell by almost 50% over a five-year period, from 196,000 cases in 2004 to 108,000 cases in 2009, “thanks to measures introduced by the European Union”, according to the 2009 EU summary report on zoonoses (diseases that can be transmitted to humans from animals) published on Tuesday 22 March by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Commission reports in a press release.
Health Commissioner John Dalli said that European consumers may rest assured that efforts against agents carrying disease from animals to humans will continue unabated, in order further to reduce their impact. In 2010, EFSA estimated the overall cost of human salmonellosis in the EU at between €0.2 billion and €3 billion per year.
The EFSA report shows that salmonella cases in humans fell by 17% in 2009, the fifth consecutive year in which there has been a decrease. The report also shows that, between 2008 and 2009, the number of flocks of laying hens infected with salmonella fell by 9%. Campylobacteriosis remained the most reported zoonotic disease in humans, showing a slight increase with 198,252 cases in 2009, compared with 190,566 in 2008 (+4%). In foodstuffs, campylobacter, which can cause diarrhoea and fever, was mostly found in raw poultry meat, and, in live animals, it was found in poultry, pigs and cattle. (L.C./transl.rt)