Estimation of the relative contribution of different food and animal sources to human Salmonella infections in the European Union
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The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as authors. In accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, this task has been carried out exclusively by the authors in the context of a grant agreement between the European Food Safety Authority and the authors. The present document is published complying with the transparency principle to which the European Food Safety Authority is subject. It may not be considered as an output adopted by EFSA. EFSA reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors.
Abstract
EU Member States are required to collect, evaluate and report data on zoonoses, zoonotic agents, antimicrobial resistance and food-borne outbreaks to the European Commission each year. EFSA is responsible for examining, analyzing and summarizing these data, and for publishing the results in the Community Summary Report. The identification of sources of human infections is one of the key analyses in the Community Summary Report. This report provides estimates on the relative contribution of different food and animal sources to human Salmonella infections in the European Union, European regions and Member States. Two approaches to attribute human Salmonella infections to the responsible food-animal sources were applied. Data used in the models covered the period from 2006 to 2009. The results of the microbial subtyping model showed that the relative contribution of food-animal sources varied between regions and countries. The laying hen reservoir was estimated to be the most important source in the EU contributing with 43.8% (95% Credibility Interval (CI) 43.2 – 44.4%) of cases attributed to this source, followed by pigs (26.9%, 95% CI 26.3-27.6%). Turkeys and broilers were estimated to be less important sources of Salmonella, contributing with 4.0% (95% CI 3.8-4.3%) and 3.4% (95% CI 3.1-3.7%), respectively. A total of 9.2% of all salmonellosis cases were reported as being travelrelated, and 3.6% of cases were reported as being part of outbreaks with unknown source. Nine percent of cases could not be attributed to any source included in the model. The results of an analysis of data from outbreak investigations attributed salmonellosis to 19 food sources and water. Eggs were estimated to be the most important source of disease in the study period, followed by pork, chicken, the general category “meat and poultry”, and dairy products. An analysis by year using data from 2007-2009 showed that the contribution of eggs decreased in 2009, and the proportion of disease attributed to other sources varied over the years and between regions. The report discusses assumptions and limitations of the two approaches and concludes with a number of recommendations.