Irish E.coli cases far exceed EU average

IRELAND HAS one of the highest rates of disease-causing E.coli cases in Europe, according to a new report.

The number of “verotoxigenic” E.coli cases reported in Ireland is more than four times the EU average, according to the report compiled by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa).

Some 167 such cases were reported in 2007, of which 115 were confirmed. Ireland’s average of 2.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants is exceeded only in Sweden and Denmark. Irish cases have doubled in three years.

Many forms of E.coli bacteria are harmless and live naturally in the gut of humans and animals, but verotoxigenic varieties can cause serious illness and even death in humans. The best-known and most common form is E.coli 0157, which spreads to the human food chain through the faeces of animals.

The Efsa report on zoonoses (diseases spread from animals to humans) also shows that the number of Irish cases of listeriosis, while small, has increased threefold. This infection is caused by the listeria bacterium and mostly affects new-born children and people with weak immune systems. Symptoms include vomiting, nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

In 2007, 21 cases of listeriosis were reported and confirmed, compared to seven the previous year and 11 in 2005. The Irish rate of 0.5 cases per 100,000 of population compares to an EU average of 0.3. One-fifth of cases in the EU resulted in death.

Campylobacter was the most widely reported gastro-intestinal bug reported across the EU, with over 200,000 confirmed cases in 2007, according to Efsa.

The bug lives in the gut of many animals, and patients usually suffer short-term symptoms such as diarrhoea and abdominal pain, though occasionally more serious complications may arise.

Some 1,891 cases of campylobacterosis in humans were reported in Ireland, giving a rate slightly lower than the EU average. The bug was also found in 8 per cent of sheep and almost 15 per cent of pet dogs.

On average in Europe, about one-quarter of poultry samples were found to contain campylobacter, which is killed by proper cooking.

Another bug that causes food poisoning, salmonella, is far less common here than in other EU states. With 456 reported cases, it affects one in 10,000 Irish people, one-third the European average.

There were also five confirmed cases of tuberculosis in humans and seven cases of brucellosis.

Ireland continues to have the highest rates of bovine tuberculosis in Europe, the report shows. More than 5,000 Irish cattle herds, or almost 5 per cent of the total number of herds, are infected.