Surveillance in the EU

Under the EU's Zoonosis Directive 2003/99/EC, all member states are required to ensure effective monitoring of zoonoses and the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance as well as to investigate foodborne outbreaks. There are EU harmonized surveillance programmes that apply to certain zoonoses, such as salmonella in poultry. Harmonized reporting requirements have been put in place in order to make it possible to assess the effect of efforts to combat these zoonoses.

The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, is responsible for collecting data from the national monitoring programmes, EU baseline studies, foodborne outbreaks and occurrence of antimicrobial resistance. EFSA publishes the results of these monitoring programmes in annual reports concerning the occurrence of zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and foodborne outbreaks in the EU.

EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, ECDC, publish the annual report The European Union Summary Report on Trends and Sources of Zoonoses, Zoonotic Agents and Food-borne Outbreaks. The reports contain data about human cases of disease, data from the entire food production chain as well as data concerning foodborne outbreaks. From 2004-2011 and again from 2013-2015 the National Food Institute assisted EFSA in preparing the report.

Data from the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance is published in a separate report: The European Union Summary Report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food.