TY - RPRT
T1 - Technical specifications for monitoring Community trends in zoonotic agents in foodstuffs and animal populations on request from EFSA
AU - Borck Høg, Birgitte
AU - Chriél, Mariann
AU - Korsgaard, Helle
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Technical specifications are proposed for the monitoring of temporal trends in zoonotic agents in animal and
food populations at Community or Member State group level in the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC. Two
types of trend monitoring are identified: trend watching, which covers general observations of harmonised or
non-harmonised data for possible trends, and trend analyses which means statistical analyses of harmonised data
for the detection of trends over time. Trend watching can be regarded as the first and preliminary step in trend
monitoring. The specifications identify a set of criteria for the selection of the zoonotic agent/animal or food
category combinations where trend analyses would be justified. Based on data available from 2004 to 2007, the
following combinations are suggested for trend analyses: Salmonella in fresh broiler and pig meat, flocks of
laying hens and broilers, slaughter and breeding pigs as well as fattening turkeys; Campylobacter in fresh broiler
meat; Listeria monocytogenes in smoked fish; Mycobacterium bovis in bovine herds; Brucella in bovine and
caprine/ovine herds in co-financed non-officially free Member States; verotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 in
cattle; and Echinococcus multilocularis in red foxes. This list is proposed to be revised on a regular basis taking
into account most recent knowledge. Suggestions for minimum sample sizes and number of time points needed
for identifying trends are provided. Weighting of the national results should be applied at Community level in
order to account for the different sizes of national populations. Biological relevance of trends depends on several
factors such as the prevalence of the agent in the population, and the severity of the disease in question, as well
as on the impact of the trend on the exposure to humans. Statistical significance of a trend observed in data is
therefore only one of the factors impacting on the biological relevance of an observed trend.
AB - Technical specifications are proposed for the monitoring of temporal trends in zoonotic agents in animal and
food populations at Community or Member State group level in the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC. Two
types of trend monitoring are identified: trend watching, which covers general observations of harmonised or
non-harmonised data for possible trends, and trend analyses which means statistical analyses of harmonised data
for the detection of trends over time. Trend watching can be regarded as the first and preliminary step in trend
monitoring. The specifications identify a set of criteria for the selection of the zoonotic agent/animal or food
category combinations where trend analyses would be justified. Based on data available from 2004 to 2007, the
following combinations are suggested for trend analyses: Salmonella in fresh broiler and pig meat, flocks of
laying hens and broilers, slaughter and breeding pigs as well as fattening turkeys; Campylobacter in fresh broiler
meat; Listeria monocytogenes in smoked fish; Mycobacterium bovis in bovine herds; Brucella in bovine and
caprine/ovine herds in co-financed non-officially free Member States; verotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 in
cattle; and Echinococcus multilocularis in red foxes. This list is proposed to be revised on a regular basis taking
into account most recent knowledge. Suggestions for minimum sample sizes and number of time points needed
for identifying trends are provided. Weighting of the national results should be applied at Community level in
order to account for the different sizes of national populations. Biological relevance of trends depends on several
factors such as the prevalence of the agent in the population, and the severity of the disease in question, as well
as on the impact of the trend on the exposure to humans. Statistical significance of a trend observed in data is
therefore only one of the factors impacting on the biological relevance of an observed trend.
M3 - Report
T3 - the EFSA Journal
BT - Technical specifications for monitoring Community trends in zoonotic agents in foodstuffs and animal populations on request from EFSA
PB - European Food Safety Authority
ER -