Annual assessment of Echinococcus multilocularis surveillance reports submitted in 2022 in the context of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/772

Abstract

This report is part of the Echinococcus multilocularis surveillance scientific reports which are presented annually by EFSA to the European Commission and are intended to assess the sampling strategy, data collection and detection methods used by Finland, Ireland, United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) and Norway in their respective surveillance programmes. The surveillance programmes of these four countries were evaluated by checking the information submitted by each of them and verifying that the technical requirements were fulfilled as laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/ 772 of 21 November 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to preventive health measures for the control of Echinococcus multilocularis infection in dogs, and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011. The information was divided into four different categories for assessment: the type and sensitivity of the detection method, the selection of the target population, the sampling strategy and the methodology. For each category, the main aspects that need to be considered in order to accomplish the technical requirements of the legislation were checked against compliance of several criteria. Three of the countries participating in this surveillance (Finland, Ireland and Norway (mainland)) succeeded in the fulfilment of the technical legal requirements foreseen in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/ 772 concerning these four different categories. United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) fulfils those requirements, only assuming a diagnostic test sensitivity value of 0.99 (value provided by the national reference laboratory, higher than the conservative sensitivity value suggested by EFSA, i.e. 0.78). None of the four countries recorded positive samples in the 12-month reporting period.

The European Union One Health 2022 Zoonoses Report

“…Surveillance is mainly carried out in red foxes, Europe's main definitive host. In 2020, Finland, Ireland, mainland Norway (Svalbard archipelago excluded) and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) demonstrated the absence of E. multilocularis through the implementation of an annual surveillance programme in compliance with Regulation ( EU ) 2018/772 (EFSA, Rusinà, & Zancanaro, 2023 ) . In accordance with this regulation, Malta is not required to implement a surveillance programme due to the absence of the definitive host (red fox) on its territory.…”