A comparative study of the risk perceptions and risk communications of stakeholders within five european countries after the issue of the roadmap

Remerciements à l'Association pour l'Étude de l'Épidémiologie des Maladies Animales, éditeur de la revue "Épidémiologie et santé animale" qui nous donné l'autorisation de publier le texte intégral de cet article.International audienceScience-based control measures (such as the ban of the inclusion of meat and bone meal in feed and the removal of potentially BSE infected animal tissues, the so called specified risk materials, from the feed/food chains) by the EU and elsewhere resulted in the continuous decline of the BSE epidemic in recent years. The pressure to lift certain control measures led the European Commission to issue a TSE Roadmap allowing an open discussion on the potential for regulation relaxation. To investigate the risk perceptions of stakeholders and how to improve the communication in dealing with the TSE roadmap a qualitative social research has been carried out. Forty-six in-depth, semi-structured face-to-face interviews with risk managers and stakeholders were obtained in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The main results obtained may be summarized as follows. TSE is not longer a hot topic: the interviewees shared the view that the TSE risk is clearly on decline and the overall BSE (and TSE) risk perception is low. Moreover all examined stakeholders appreciated the TSE Roadmap as a new communication strategy; however they provided several suggestions to improve the communication in the field of TSE

Risk communication: the European Commission TSE Roadmap Model for policy relaxation

International audienceThe Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis forced the European Commission to impose strict regulations, the most significant and overarching of which was Regulation (EC) No 999/2001. These regulations were responsible for the abatement of the BSE epidemic in Europe in the years that followed. The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) Roadmap was published by the European Commission several years later, on 15 July 2005. This roadmap proposed the relaxation of BSE measures in the short, medium and long term. It was seen as a proactive way to prepare for the implementation of new regulations and, in terms of risk communication, was a very interesting approach. This paper presents the 'roadmap model' as an effective tool for risk communication. It proposes several recommendations to help decision-makers in the difficult task of risk communication and establishes some conditions for generating public trust

Public risk perception of relaxation of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (tse) measures in Europe

The authors thank the members of the "NeuroPrion Risk Control Group" for various comments and helpful hints. They also thank all of the interviewees who contributed information and enabled this study. Last but not least, the authors are grateful for many invaluable comments provided by three reviewers of a previous version of this article.International audienceThe so-called "TSE roadmap" was published by the European Commission on July 15, 2005. The transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) roadmap suggests relaxation of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and other animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies measures in the short, medium, and long term. According to the TSE roadmap, "Any relaxation of BSE measures following the scientific assessment should be initiated by an open discussion with all stakeholders and supported by a strong communication strategy" (European Commission 2005, 5). Bearing this in mind, a social scientific project as designed to (1) involve different stakeholder groups, governmental risk managers, and their scientific advisors and (2) obtain their perception of the TSE roadmap and of its implications for precautionary consumer protection in five European Union (EU) Member States. This study describes the risk perception and risk management of TSE in Europe as exemplified by the TSE roadmap. The following query guided the international comparative study: How is TSE risk perceived by four interviewed stakeholder groups in five studied countries? The risk perceptions of TSE of risk managers from the ministries in charge in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as their scientific advisors and stakeholder groups, were determined. The stakeholder groups were from three different areas involved with TSE, including farmers, consumers, and the meat/food industry. The issue to be addressed is roadmapping an adequate instrument for stakeholder involvement and for risk decision making

Time trends in exposure of cattle to bovine spongiform encephalopathy and cohort effect in France and Italy: value of the classical Age-Period-Cohort approach

BACKGROUND: The Age-Period-Cohort (APC) analysis is routinely used for time trend analysis of cancer incidence or mortality rates, but in veterinary epidemiology, there are still only a few examples of this application. APC models were recently used to model the French epidemic assuming that the time trend for BSE was mainly due to a cohort effect in relation to the control measures that may have modified the BSE exposure of cohorts over time. We used a categorical APC analysis which did not require any functional form for the effect of the variables, and examined second differences to estimate the variation of the BSE trend. We also reanalysed the French epidemic and performed a simultaneous analysis of Italian data using more appropriate birth cohort categories for comparison. RESULTS: We used data from the exhaustive surveillance carried out in France and Italy between 2001 and 2007, and comparatively described the trend of the epidemic in both countries. At the end, the shape and irregularities of the trends were discussed in light of the main control measures adopted to control the disease. In Italy a decrease in the epidemic became apparent from 1996, following the application of rendering standards for the processing of specific risk material (SRM). For the French epidemic, the pattern of second differences in the birth cohorts confirmed the beginning of the decrease from 1995, just after the implementation of the meat and bone meal (MBM) ban for all ruminants (1994). CONCLUSION: The APC analysis proved to be highly suitable for the study of the trend in BSE epidemics and was helpful in understanding the effects of management and control of the disease. Additionally, such an approach may help in the implementation of changes in BSE regulations

Animal tumour registry of two provinces in northern Italy: incidence of spontaneous tumours in dogs and cats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer is a major cause of death in domestic animals. Furthermore, many forms of pet neoplasm resemble that of their human counterparts in biologic behaviour, pathologic expression, and recognised risk factors.</p> <p>In April 2005, a pilot project was activated so as to establish a dog and cat tumour registry living in the Venice and Vicenza provinces (Veneto Region, north-eastern Italy), with the aim of estimating the incidence of spontaneous tumours.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Through a telephone survey, the estimates of canine and feline populations of the catchment area turned out to be of 296,318 (CI +/- 30,201) and 214,683 (CI +/- 21,755) subjects, respectively. During the first three years, overall 2,509 canine and 494 feline cases of neoplasia were diagnosed. In dogs, the estimated annual incidence rate (IR) per 100,000 dogs for all tumours was 282 in all the catchment area, whereas in cats the IR was much lower (IR = 77). Malignant and benign tumours were equally distributed in male and female dogs, whereas cats had a 4.6-fold higher incidence of malignant tumours than benign. In both dogs and cats, purebreds had an almost 2-fold higher incidence of malignant tumours than mixed breeds. Tumour incidence increased with age in both dog and cat populations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study has provided estimates of incidence of spontaneous neoplasm in companion animals. Further attempts will be made to increase the accuracy in the population size assessment and to ascertain the real gap with the official regional canine demographic registry. Veterinary practitioners may also benefit from the tumour registry insofar they may obtain data for specific breeds, age groups or geographical areas.</p

Explaining the heterogeneous scrapie surveillance figures across Europe: a meta-regression approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Two annual surveys, the abattoir and the fallen stock, monitor the presence of scrapie across Europe. A simple comparison between the prevalence estimates in different countries reveals that, in 2003, the abattoir survey appears to detect more scrapie in some countries. This is contrary to evidence suggesting the greater ability of the fallen stock survey to detect the disease. We applied meta-analysis techniques to study this apparent heterogeneity in the behaviour of the surveys across Europe. Furthermore, we conducted a meta-regression analysis to assess the effect of country-specific characteristics on the variability. We have chosen the odds ratios between the two surveys to inform the underlying relationship between them and to allow comparisons between the countries under the meta-regression framework. Baseline risks, those of the slaughtered populations across Europe, and country-specific covariates, available from the European Commission Report, were inputted in the model to explain the heterogeneity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results show the presence of significant heterogeneity in the odds ratios between countries and no reduction in the variability after adjustment for the different risks in the baseline populations. Three countries contributed the most to the overall heterogeneity: Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands. The inclusion of country-specific covariates did not, in general, reduce the variability except for one variable: the proportion of the total adult sheep population sampled as fallen stock by each country. A large residual heterogeneity remained in the model indicating the presence of substantial effect variability between countries.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The meta-analysis approach was useful to assess the level of heterogeneity in the implementation of the surveys and to explore the reasons for the variation between countries.</p

A relevant long-term impact of the circulation of a potentially contaminated vaccine on the distribution of scrapie in Italy. Results from a retrospective cohort study

A sudden increase in the incidence of scrapie in Italy in 1997 was subsequently linked to the use of a potentially infected vaccine against contagious agalactia. The relative risk for the exposed farms ranged between 6 and 40. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term impact of exposure to the potentially scrapie-contaminated vaccine on the Italian classical scrapie epidemic. We carried out a retrospective cohort study, fitting mixed-effects Poisson regression models, dividing national geographic areas into exposure categories on the basis of the vaccine circulation levels. We took into account the sensitivity of the surveillance system applied in the different areas. The population attributable fraction (PAF) was used to assess the impact on the total population of farms associated with the effect of circulation of the vaccine. The provinces where the vaccine was more often sold were noted to have a higher level of disease when compared to those provinces where the vaccine was sold less often (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-6.5). The population attributable fraction was high (68.4%). Standardization techniques allowed to account for the potential of geographical variability in the sensitivity of the Italian surveillance system. Although the number of the directly exposed farms was limited, an important long-term impact of the vaccine circulation could be quantified in terms of secondary outbreaks likely due to the exchange of animals from directly exposed flocks

The prevalence of atypical scrapie in sheep from positive flocks is not higher than in the general sheep population in 11 European countries

Background: During the last decade, active surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in small ruminants has been intensive in Europe. In many countries this has led to the detection of cases of atypical scrapie which, unlike classical scrapie, might not be contagious. EU legislation requires, that following detection of a scrapie case, control measures including further testing take place in affected flocks, including the culling of genotype susceptible to classical scrapie. This might result in the detection of additional cases. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of additional cases in flocks affected by atypical scrapie using surveillance data collected in Europe in order to ascertain whether atypical scrapie, is contagious. Results: Questionnaires were used to collect, at national level, the results of active surveillance and testing associated with flock outbreaks in 12 European countries. The mean prevalence of atypical scrapie was 5.5 (5.0-6.0) cases per ten thousand in abattoir surveillance and 8.1 (7.3-9.0) cases per ten thousand in fallen stock. By using meta-analysis, on 11 out of the 12 countries, we found that the probability of detecting additional cases of atypical scrapie in positive flocks was similar to the probability observed in animals slaughtered for human consumption (odds ratio, OR = 1.07, CI95%: 0.70-1.63) or among fallen stock (OR = 0.78, CI95%: 0.51-1.2). In contrast, when comparing the two scrapie types, the probability of detecting additional cases in classical scrapie positive flocks was significantly higher than the probability of detecting additional cases in atypical scrapie positive flocks (OR = 32.4, CI95%: 20.7-50.7). Conclusions: These results suggest that atypical scrapie is not contagious or has a very low transmissibility under natural conditions compared with classical scrapie. Furthermore this study stressed the importance of standardised data collection to make good use of the analyses undertaken by European countries in their efforts to control atypical and classical scrapie

Surveillance Study of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in Domestic and Wild Ruminants in Northwestern Italy

In industrialized countries, increasing autochthonous infections of hepatitis E virus (HEV) are caused by zoonotic transmission of genotypes (Gts) 3 and 4, mainly through consumption of contaminated raw or undercooked pork meat. Although swine and wild boar are recognized as the main reservoir for Gt3 and Gt4, accumulating evidence indicates that other animal species, including domestic and wild ruminants, may harbor HEV. Herein, we screened molecularly and serologically serum and fecal samples from two domestic and four wild ruminant species collected in Valle d'Aosta and Piemonte regions (northwestern Italy. HEV antibodies were found in sheep (21.6%), goats (11.4%), red deer (2.6%), roe deer (3.1%), and in Alpine ibex (6.3%). Molecular screening was performed using different primer sets targeting highly conserved regions of hepeviruses and HEV RNA, although at low viral loads, was detected in four fecal specimens (3.0%, 4/134) collected from two HEV seropositive sheep herds. Taken together, the data obtained document the circulation of HEV in the geographical area assessed both in wild and domestic ruminants, but with the highest seroprevalence in sheep and goats. Consistently with results from other studies conducted in southern Italy, circulation of HEV among small domestic ruminants seems to occur more frequently than expected

The public health risk posed by Listeria monocytogenes in frozen fruit and vegetables including herbs, blanched during processing

A multi-country outbreak ofListeria monocytogenesST6 linked to blanched frozen vegetables (bfV)took place in the EU (2015–2018). Evidence of food-borne outbreaks shows thatL. monocytogenesisthe most relevant pathogen associated with bfV. The probability of illness per serving of uncooked bfV,for the elderly (65–74 years old) population, is up to 3,600 times greater than cooked bfV and verylikely lower than any of the evaluated ready-to-eat food categories. The main factors affectingcontamination and growth ofL. monocytogenesin bfV during processing are the hygiene of the rawmaterials and process water; the hygienic conditions of the food processing environment (FPE); andthe time/Temperature (t/T) combinations used for storage and processing (e.g. blanching, cooling).Relevant factors after processing are the intrinsic characteristics of the bfV, the t/T combinations usedfor thawing and storage and subsequent cooking conditions, unless eaten uncooked. Analysis of thepossible control options suggests that application of a complete HACCP plan is either not possible orwould not further enhance food safety. Instead, specific prerequisite programmes (PRP) andoperational PRP activities should be applied such as cleaning and disinfection of the FPE, water control,t/T control and product information and consumer awareness. The occurrence of low levels ofL. monocytogenesat the end of the production process (e.g.<10 CFU/g) would be compatible with thelimit of 100 CFU/g at the moment of consumption if any labelling recommendations are strictly followed(i.e. 24 h at 5°C). Under reasonably foreseeable conditions of use (i.e. 48 h at 12°C),L. monocytogeneslevels need to be considerably lower (not detected in 25 g). Routine monitoring programmes forL. monocytogenesshould be designed following a risk-based approach and regularly revised based ontrend analysis, being FPE monitoring a key activity in the frozen vegetable industry