A continuous increase for 5 years. Listeriosis continues to infect people in the European Union… and it is increasingly invasive. Experts are alerting to this trend.
The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) is sounding the alarm. For 5 years, the number of listeriosis in Europe has been growing steadily, reports his last report. This foodborne illness can be very serious because it infects the blood. Experts are all the more worried as the offending strains are more invasive and resistant.
Less salmonellosis
Campylobacteriosis, mainly transmitted by poultry, remains the most common foodborne disease in Europe. It continues to decline, as does salmonellosis (- 8%), a success hailed by EFSA. “But we must not let our guard down because other diseases, such as listeriosis or VTEC infections (E. coli which produces verocytoxin, editor’s note) are on the rise, ”emphasizes Marta Hugas, Director of the Risk Assessment Department at EFSA.
The progression of VTEC infections is not of great concern to EFSA. Indeed, the Agency largely attributes this increase to the increased vigilance of the Member States after the epidemic outbreak of 2011.
Serious infections
Between 2012 and 2013, listeriosis increased by 8.6%. The number of cases remains relatively low – 1,763 in 2013 – but they worry experts. In fact, the majority of patients present with invasive and severe forms of this disease which infects the blood, and sometimes the nervous system. It is the deadliest foodborne illness. The immunocompromised and the elderly are particularly at risk.
“Infections most often come from ready-to-eat foods,” warns Mike Catchpole, Scientific Director at the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC). The situation is all the more critical as the Listeria monocytogenes, a strain that causes the disease in humans, is rarely detected above the safe threshold in ready-to-eat foods. The symptoms, are relatively classic. Most of the time, people suffer from flu-like illness.
.
