Surveillance of seven priority food- and waterborne diseases in the EU/EEA 2010-2012

ECDC’s surveillance of food-and waterborne diseases and zoonoses is carried out under the auspices of the Programme of Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses. Each year, improvements in the harmonisation of systems, definitions, protocols and data are observed. Nevertheless, data provided by the EU/EEA Member States reflect differences in ascertainment and disease incidence, and as such, comparisons of raw numbers and rates cannot be relied upon as a true reflection of differences in epidemiology between countries. In this report, some country-specific data are presented, however the main focus is on overall EU/EEA trends based on confirmed data from the reporting countries.