Recorded outbreaks plummet in Germany in 2020 and pandemic was likely a factor

Published 2021년 10월 15일

Tridge summary

In 2020, Germany saw a significant decrease in foodborne outbreaks, with 193 outbreaks reporting 1,143 illnesses, compared to 402 outbreaks and 1,970 illnesses in the previous year. The coronavirus pandemic is believed to have played a role in this reduction, due to measures such as restaurant closures and increased hygiene practices. The most common pathogens, Campylobacter and Salmonella, saw a 46% and 42% decrease respectively. However, an outbreak of Salmonella linked to imported dried coconut from Mozambique resulted in 161 illnesses, and an outbreak of Salmonella from a kebab shop in Saxony-Anhalt led to 70 cases. The report also highlighted the importance of proper heat treatment, storage, cooling, and preventing cross-contamination in reducing foodborne outbreaks.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The number of foodborne outbreaks reported in Germany halved in 2020, according to a report, but did include a large Salmonella outbreak linked to imported dried coconut. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) said a factor in the decline was the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the two entities received significantly fewer reports of foodborne disease outbreaks than in previous years. In total, 193 outbreaks were reported with 1,143 illnesses, 174 hospitalizations and four deaths compared to 402 outbreaks, 1,970 illnesses, 385 hospitalizations and five deaths in 2019. As in previous years, the most common causes this past year were Campylobacter and Salmonella. However, Salmonella and Campylobacter infections decreased by 46 percent and 22 percent, respectively, based on calculations by the Robert Koch Institute. Other pathogens that caused outbreaks were norovirus, Bacillus cereus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Shiga ...

Source: Foodsafetynews