Surveillance of foodborne parasitic diseases in Europe in a One Health approach

Joke Van Der Giessen,Gunita Deksne,Maria Angeles Gómez-Morales,Karin Troell,Jacinto Gomes,Smaragda Sotiraki,Miroslaw Rozycki,István Kucsera,Olgica Djurković-Djaković,Lucy J Robertson

doi:10.1016/j.parepi.2021.e00205

Abstract

In 2012, WHO/FAO ranked 24 foodborne parasites (FBP) using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to provide risk assessors with a basis for prioritising control of highly ranked FBP on the global level. One conclusion was that ranking may differ substantially per region. In Europe, the same methodology was used to rank FBP of relevance for Europe. Of the 24 FBP, the top-five prioritised FBP were identified for Europe as Echinococcus multilocularis, Toxoplasma gondii, Trichinella spiralis, E. granulosus, and Cryptosporidium spp., all of which are zoonotic. The objective of the present study was to provide an overview of surveillance and reporting systems in Europe for these top five prioritised FBP in the human and animal populations, to identify gaps, and give recommendations for improvement. Information on the surveillance systems was collected from 35 European countries and analysed according to the five different regions. For most FBP, human surveillance is passive in most countries and regions in Europe and notification differs between countries and regions. Adequate surveillance programmes for these FBP are lacking, except for T. spiralis, which is notifiable in 34 countries with active surveillance in susceptible animals under EU directive. Although human and animal surveillance data are available for the five prioritised FBP, we identified a lack of consistency in surveillance and reporting requirements between national experts and European bodies. Recommendations for improved surveillance systems are discussed.

Highlights

⁎ Corresponding author at: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Center for Zoonoses & Environmental Microbiology, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, P.O
The present study provides an overview of the different surveillance and reporting systems in Europe for the top-five prioritised Foodborne parasites (FBP) in human and animal populations, identifies gaps, and suggests recommendations for improvement
In the EU Regulation, practical arrangements for official control for cysticercosis during post-mortem inspection caused by Taenia saginata in domestic bovine animals and by T. solium for Suidae and for Trichinella spp. in susceptible slaughter animals are included

Summary

Introduction

The cestode E. multilocularis, which ranked the highest in Europe, is the aetiological agent of alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a severe zoonotic disease with a substantial impact on human health, and among the most important emerging parasitic diseases in Europe (Hegglin and Deplazes, 2013; European Food Safety Agency Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) et al, 2018). Since the incubation period is long and can range from five to fifteen years, risk factors are difficult to identify contaminated raw produce or water are considered the transmission pathway (Possenti et al, 2016) This zoonotic fourth-ranked FBP can cause economic losses in animals and high morbidity in people (Torgerson et al, 2015; European Food Safety Agency Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) et al, 2018). The advantage of risk-based surveillance is increased cost effectiveness of the surveillance (European Commission, 2015)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion