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Unit Epidemiology and Zoonoses

The protection of human health against diseases and infections transmissible directly or indirectly between animals and humans, zoonoses, is of paramount importance. Epidemiology is the scientific examination of the spread of diseases and their agents in the relevant populations. In the case of zoonoses they include animals, food, feed and the environment as well as human beings.

Unit 43 makes an important contribution to consumer health protection by supplying robust epidemiological data and findings

• for the assessment of health risks for man as well as temporal and spatial trends,
• for exposure assessment,
• for setting priorities and improving prevention and intervention strategies.

The main tasks of the Unit involve participation in implementing the Zoonoses Monitoring Directive 2003/99/EC and preparation of the control measures within the framework of the Zoonoses Control Regulation (EC) 2160/2003. The Unit’s main areas of work are:

• Preparation of the annual report on trends and sources of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in Germany
  To this end, data are collected, evaluated and compiled from the federal states and federal institutions and then passed on to the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

• Monitoring programmes
  The Unit draws up monitoring programmes on the prevalence of zoonotic agents and their properties (e.g. resistances) along the food chain and coordinates their implementation in close cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the bodies in the federal states. The results are compiled in reports and used in microbiological risk assessment.

• Research
  In cooperation with internationally recognised groups, it actively engages in research on the development of epidemiological methods for prevalence and exposure assessment, the quantification of contributing factors and identification of the causal relationship between food contamination and disease in man.

• Coordination of international activities
  The Unit coordinates the activities of the European Network for the Prevention and Control of Zoonoses (MedVetNet)

• Participation in national and international bodies of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Commission

Furthermore, the Unit is the International Reference Laboratory for Salmonellosis of the World Organisation for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties, OIE)

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