Suchergebnisse

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, Malta, the United Kingdom (UK) and Norway in their respective surveillance programmes. The surveillance programmes of these five countries were evaluated by checking the information submitted by each of them and verifying that the technical requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011 were complied. The information was divided in 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. All of the countries participating in this surveillance (Finland, the UK, Norway, Malta and Ireland) succeeded in the fulfilment of the technical legal requirements foreseen in Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011 concerning these four different categories. Northern Ireland (UK) fulfils those requirements only when assuming a diagnostic test sensitivity value of 0.99, which is higher than the sensitivity value suggested by EFSA (conservative value of 0.78). None of the five countries recorded positive samples in the 12‐month reporting period.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), by request of the European Commission, develops pest survey cards for pests of relevance for the European Union (EU) member states, summarizing key biological, epidemiological and diagnostic information relevant for the detection and identification of these pests by inspectors and laboratory technicians in the EU member states. For three pilot pests, including emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), detailed guidelines are being prepared for the survey planners in the EU member states. Interaction with experts on the relevant organisms and the member states is needed before and after implementation of the surveys to ensure they are fit for purpose and can be harmonized across the EU. An important feature of the survey cards is the identification of risk factors, to focus the surveys on the most likely areas to find the pest if it is present and thus being able to apply a risk-based surveillance. Since 2014, ash wood and bark (from countries where A. planipennis is known to occur) are subjected to specific requirements laid down in Council Directive 2000/29/EC, the beetle is unlikely to enter the EU via this pathway. However, it cannot fully be excluded that introductions have happened before these requirements came into force, without being detected until now. In addition, the beetle could already be present in new third countries without being noticed yet and thus not regulated. Furthermore, firewood from countries adjacent to Russia (Belarus, Ukraine) is not restricted. The beetle could also hitch-hike to the EU by various means of transport, in particular via highways and railroads. Given the above, surveys should focus on these areas.

The European Commission requested EFSA to facilitate the Member States in the planning and execution of their survey activities. In particular, EFSA is asked to provide scientific and technical guidelines in the context of the new plant health regime (Regulation (EU) 2016/2031), in which prevention and risk targeting are given an extra focus, and the European Commission co‐financing programme of the annual Member State survey activities for pests of EU relevance (Regulation (EU) No 652/2014). In order to address this mandate EFSA is requested to deliver by the end of 2019: (i) 47 pest survey cards that contain practical information required for preparing survey design; (ii) survey guidelines for 3 different pests that will be case studies to be developed in collaboration with the EU Member States; and, (iii) support to the Member States on the underpinning statistical methods and use of the EFSA WEB‐based tools RiBESS+ and SAMPELATOR to inform sampling strategy design, including sample size calculations. This technical report describes the methodological approach and the work‐plan EFSA will implement to deliver the requested outputs.