Xylella: risk to EU plants assessed
EFSA has conducted a pest A living organism (e.g. an insect, rodent, weed, fungus or virus) that is harmful to plants and/or their products (e.g. seeds, fruits) risk assessment A specialised field of applied science that involves reviewing scientific data and studies in order to evaluate risks associated with certain hazards. It involves four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation and an evaluation of risk reduction options for Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium that is affecting several thousand hectares of olive plantations in Apulia, southern Italy.
Xylella fastidiosa has affected more than 300 species A subdivision of the genus, a species is a group of closely related and similar-looking organisms; for example, in the case of Homo sapiens (humans), the second part of the name (sapiens) represents the species of cultivated and wild plants in the world and is transmitted by certain types of sap-sucking hopper insects.
EFSA recommends the continuation and intensification of research activities on the host range, epidemiology The study of how often diseases and other health conditions occur in different groups of people and why. It includes the study of health-related measurements (e.g. pesticide exposure or vitamin deficiency) in a population and how they may influence the risk of ill health and control of X. fastidiosa in Apulia, Italy, which is the only field outbreak in the EU.