Monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents

SUMMARY OF:

Directive 2003/99/EC on the monitoring of animal diseases and infections

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

It lays down minimum requirements to be met in all EU countries to reinforce their existing systems monitoring diseases and infections that can be transmitted directly or indirectly between animals and humans.

KEY POINTS

The directive boosts EU countries’ monitoring of:

zoonoses (diseases and infections which are naturally transmissible directly or indirectly between animals and humans);
zoonotic agents (any virus, bacterium, fungus, parasite or other biological entity that is likely to cause a zoonosis); and
related antimicrobial resistance*.

Increased monitoring of zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance

EU countries are responsible for establishing and maintaining monitoring systems. Monitoring is at the level of primary production* or other stages of the food chain, both for animal feed and for food for human consumption.

As a priority, monitoring concerns the following zoonoses:

brucellosis,
campylobacteriosis,
echinococcosis,
listeriosis,
salmonellosis,
trichinellosis,
tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis,
verotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

Depending on the epidemiological situation, monitoring also concerns:

viral zoonoses (calicivirus, hepatitis A virus, influenza virus, rabies and viruses transmitted by arthropods),
bacterial zoonoses (borreliosis, botulism, leptospirosis, psittacosis, tuberculosis other than that specified above, vibriosis, yersiniosis and agents thereof),
parasitic zoonoses (anisakiasis, cryptosporidiosis, cysticercosis and toxoplasmosis).

Monitoring method

In some cases, data collected through routine monitoring are insufficient. Coordinated monitoring programmes for one or more zoonoses may prove necessary in order to assess specific risks or establish base-line values.

EU countries are responsible for ensuring that monitoring provides comparable data on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and, where necessary, other important agents.

The monitoring of zoonoses, zoonotic agents and antimicrobial resistance in food, feed and animals supplements the monitoring of the human isolates that are conducted in accordance with Decision No 1082/2013/EU on addressing serious cross-border health threats.

Investigating foodborne outbreaks

EU countries’ competent authorities must investigate foodborne outbreaks, gathering data on the epidemiological profile, the foodstuffs potentially implicated and the potential causes.

Sharing information

Sharing information is necessary to obtain exhaustive and comparable data at EU level. In each EU country, one or more competent authorities cooperate with the authorities responsible for animal health, feed and food hygiene. Particularly in the case of foodborne outbreaks, the quick exchange of information through alert networks (e.g. the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) is essential to minimise the public health and economic impact of such an outbreak. EU and national reference laboratories are also designated to ensure high-quality analyses of samples.
EU countries must assess trends and sources of zoonoses, zoonotic agents and antimicrobial resistance and submit a report to the European Commission by the end of May each year. The Commission forwards these reports to the European Food Safety Authority, which will examine them and publish a summary report by the end of November each year.

FROM WHEN DOES THE DIRECTIVE APPLY?

It has applied since 12 December 2003. It had to become law in the EU countries by 12 April 2004.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

Food-borne diseases (zoonoses) (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Antimicrobial resistance: the ability of a microorganism to survive or grow in a given concentration of an antimicrobial agent that is usually sufficient to inhibit or kill microorganisms of that species.

Primary production: the production, breeding or cultivation of primary products, including the rearing, processing and production of farm animals before slaughter. It also covers the hunting, fishing and harvesting of wild products.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive 2003/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents, amending Council Decision 90/424/EEC and repealing Council Directive 92/117/EEC (OJ L 325, 12.12.2003, pp. 31-40)

Successive amendments to Directive 2003/99/EC have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.