Research Publications (Food Safety)

A genomic cluster of Salmonella Braenderup ST22, a serovar of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica which causes symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, was notified by Danish authorities to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on 3 May 2021.

We report a 5-single nucleotide polymorphism cluster of Salmonella Enteriditis in England, part of a global cluster of S. Enteritidis ST11. Forty-seven confirmed cases have been investigated of whom 25 were linked to a restaurant. In addition, there were 18 probable cases with restaurant exposure. Epidemiological investigations suggested eggs or chicken as the most likely cause of the outbreak but were unable to distinguish between those two food vehicles.

The French National Reference Centre for Escherichia coli, Shigella and Salmonella (FNRC-ESS) detected two human clusters of 33 cases (median age: 10 years; 17 females) infected by Salmonella enterica serotype Bovismorbificans, ST142, HC5_243255 (EnteroBase HierCC‑cgMLST scheme) in September–November 2020 and of 11 cases (median age: 11 years; seven males) infected by S. enteri

Between 1 July and 26 October 2019 in Andalusia, Spain, a large outbreak with 207 confirmed cases of listeriosis was identified. Confirmed cases had a median age of 44 years (range: 0–94) and 114 were women (55.1%). Most cases (n = 154) had mild gastroenteritis, 141 (68.1%) required hospitalisation and three died; five of 34 pregnant women had a miscarriage.

Background

Campylobacter is a leading cause of food and waterborne illness. Monitoring and modelling Campylobacter at chicken broiler farms, combined with weather pattern surveillance, can aid nowcasting of human gastrointestinal (GI) illness outbreaks. Near real-time sharing of data and model results with health authorities can help increase potential outbreak responsiveness.

Several individuals reported gastrointestinal symptoms following meals consumed in late January 2021 at a restaurant in western Finland. We conducted a retrospective cohort study and defined a case as a person who ate at the lunch restaurant between 27 and 29 January 2021 and had stomach pain, vomiting or diarrhoea and/or a laboratory-confirmed Salmonella Typhimurium infection within 2 weeks after the exposure.

Background

Salmonellosis remains the second most common zoonosis in the European Union despite a long-term decreasing trend. However, this trend has been reported to have stagnated in recent years, particularly for Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE).

Aim

Cryptosporidium is a leading global cause of waterborne disease, with many reported outbreaks related to main water supplies. In August 2019, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis involving 80 cases occurred among 114 vacationers in a small municipality located in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, north-eastern Italy. After excluding a potential food-borne outbreak, the epidemiological investigation focussed on the hypothesis of a waterborne outbreak.

Background Vibriosis cases in Northern European countries and countries bordering the Baltic Sea increased during heatwaves in 2014 and 2018. Aim We describe the epidemiology of vibriosis and the genetic diversity of Vibrio spp.

Background

Hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV-3) is widely distributed throughout Europe, with incidence of infections increasing in many countries. Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have reported the distribution of HEV-3 subtypes in cohorts of patients with hepatic disease.

Aim

In autumn 2019, the Public Health Agency of Sweden identified a cluster of Salmonella Newport cases by whole genome sequencing (WGS). Cases’ distribution in place and time indicated a nation-wide ongoing outbreak. An investigation was initiated to identify the source and prevent further cases.

An increase of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology has been reported among children in multiple countries worldwide. With a rapid online survey among hospitals in and outside of Europe, we describe case numbers recorded from 1 January to 18 April 2022 vs the previous 5 years.

An extensive multi-country outbreak of multidrug-resistant monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium infection in 10 countries with 150 reported cases, predominantly affecting young children, has been linked to chocolate products produced by a large multinational company. Extensive withdrawals and recalls of multiple product lines have been undertaken.

Background A wide variety of pathogens can cause disease in humans via consumption of contaminated food.

Salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and listeriosis are food-borne diseases. We estimated and forecasted the number of cases of these three diseases in Belgium from 2012 to 2020, and calculated the corresponding number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The salmonellosis time series was fitted with a Bai and Perron two-breakpoint model, while a dynamic linear model was used for campylobacteriosis and a Poisson autoregressive model for listeriosis.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are an important public health concern. Since the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) during the 1980s and its link with human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, active surveillance has been a key element of the European Union's TSE control strategy. Success of this strategy means that now, very few cases are detected compared with the number of animals tested.

A case of food-borne botulism occurred in Slovakia in 2015. Clostridium botulinum type A was isolated from three nearly empty commercial hummus tubes. The product, which was sold in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, was withdrawn from the market and a warning was issued immediately through the European Commission's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).

Between December 2016 and June 2017, 19 Hepatitis A virus (HAV)-positive cases, 17 of which were among men who have sex with men (MSM) were identified in the Tel Aviv area. Seven of the 15 sewage samples collected between January and June 2017 were also HAV-positive. All sequences clustered with two of the three strains identified in the current European HAV outbreak.

We report an ongoing, protracted and geographically dispersed outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and gastroenteritis in Germany, involving 30 cases since December 2016. The outbreak was caused by the sorbitol-fermenting immotile variant of Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) Escherichia coli O157. Molecular typing revealed close relatedness between isolates from 14 cases. One HUS patient died. Results of a case-control study suggest packaged minced meat as the most likely food vehicle.

Multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) is a rapid and reproducible typing method that is an important tool for investigation, as well as detection, of national and multinational outbreaks of a range of food-borne pathogens. Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is the most common Salmonella serovar associated with human salmonellosis in the European Union/European Economic Area and North America.

Between July 2016 and February 2017, 48 male cases of hepatitis A were notified in the Netherlands. Of these, 17 identified as men who have sex with men (MSM). Ten of the 13 cases for whom sequencing information was available, were infected with a strain linked with the EuroPride that took place in Amsterdam in 2016. This strain is identical to a strain that has been causing a large outbreak among MSM in Taiwan.

We describe a case of severe swine influenza A(H1N1) virus infection in an immunocompetent middle-aged man in October 2016 in Italy who had only indirect exposure to pigs. The patient developed a severe acute distress respiratory syndrome which was successfully supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and treated with antiviral therapy. The sole risk factor for influenza was a body mass index?>?30 kg/m2.

Between July 2016 and January 2017, 37 confirmed cases of hepatitis A with two unique IA genotype strains primarily among men who have sex with men, were reported across eight areas in England and Northern Ireland. Epidemiological and laboratory investigations indicate that these strains may have been imported several times from Spain, with secondary sexual transmission in the United Kingdom. Local and national public health services are collaborating to control this ongoing outbreak.