Several Sciensano departments are involved in:
- the identification of possible sources of contamination
- the diagnosis and microbiological typing
- the detection and investigation of epidemics.
Analysis of food samples
The National Reference Laboratory for foodborne illnesses (NRL-VTI), within Sciensano’s Food Pathogens department, analyzes the food samples sent by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FAVV) for the presence of the concerned Listeria strain in the food.
The main objective of the NRL-VTI is to monitor food outbreaks and identify the source of the infection or intoxication so that adequate preventive measures can be taken to prevent further infections. Based on the collected data, trends in food outbreaks can be analyzed, and an insight can be gained into which pathogens and foodstuffs are involved in outbreaks and the circumstances under which they occur.
Analysis of human samples
The National Reference Center (NRC) for Listeria, within Sciensano’s Bacterial Diseases department, receives human samples from all medical laboratories in Belgium. Around 70 laboratory-confirmed Listeriacases are reported each year in this manner.
The main task of the NRC is to ensure microbiological and epidemiological surveillance of human infections with Listeria. The aim of this surveillance is to detect epidemics as quickly as possible, and to map their origin and, in the long term, the spatial and temporal trends in the evolution of this bacterium.
Epidemiological support
When an epidemic is suspected, the NRC warns Sciensano’s Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases department to determine whether additional investigation is necessary. If this is the case, the relevant regional authorities are contacted, so that the medical and health inspectors can initiate a source investigation among the patients. Sciensano can provide support for this epidemiological investigation.
Sciensano also studies the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics and helps to formulate recommendations on the use of antibiotics.
The various activities performed by Sciensano thus play a role in the detection, investigation and control of food-related epidemics, the implementation of prevention measures and evaluation of the measures taken to promote public health and consumer protection.