mardi 20 mars 2012

EU summary report on zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks 2010

Read the report : 2597.pdf (Objet application/pdf)

In 2010, several simultaneous outbreaks of norovirus infection occurred linked to the consumption of raw
oysters. From January to March 2010, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
was informed through its Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses (FWD) surveillance network
about norovirus outbreaks linked to consumption of oysters in five EU/EEA countries: the United Kingdom,
Norway, France, Sweden and Denmark. In total 65 small clusters involving 334 cases were reported. Most
affected people had eaten oysters in restaurants. This increase may be due to several factors. Firstly, it
could partly be a surveillance artefact as the sharing of information regarding norovirus outbreaks through
the FWD network is relatively recent and may have contributed to the reporting of these events. Secondly,
as the contamination of the oyster harvesting areas is not restricted to a single location, it would indicate a
broader environmental issue and not a localised contamination problem. It is possible that the unusually
cold winter experienced in northern Europe during the first three months of 2010 favoured the
contamination of the oysters as virus survival increases in cold water temperatures and under reduced
exposure to ultraviolet light.

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