The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a technical report titled 'Reporting guidance for the One Health surveillance data collection', dated 13 May 2026. The document provides detailed instructions for Member States on how to submit integrated data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and zoonotic diseases under the One Health approach, which links human, animal, and environmental health. The guidance aims to standardise reporting across the EU, impacting national authorities, laboratories, and public health agencies that must align their data collection systems with the new requirements.
The report, produced by EFSA's Biological Hazards and Contaminants unit, is a non-binding technical recommendation. It outlines specific data formats, submission timelines, and quality control measures for the annual reporting of AMR in bacteria from humans, animals, and food, as well as zoonotic disease outbreaks. The guidance introduces new variables for metadata, such as sampling location and animal species, to improve comparability across Member States.
Policy orientations and trade-offs The guidance prioritises data harmonisation and interoperability, which may require national authorities to invest in updating their surveillance IT systems and training staff. This could impose moderate short-term costs on Member States with less digitised reporting processes. However, the standardisation is expected to enhance the EU's ability to detect cross-sectoral AMR trends and inform risk assessments, benefiting public health and veterinary sectors. The report does not introduce new legal obligations but clarifies existing reporting requirements under Directive 2003/99/EC and Regulation (EU) 2019/6.
Impact on stakeholders National food safety and veterinary authorities face the most direct impact, as they must adapt their data collection workflows to the new guidance. Laboratories testing for AMR will need to ensure their outputs match the specified data fields. EU consumers and the livestock industry stand to benefit indirectly from improved surveillance that can lead to more targeted interventions against AMR. The European Commission may use the aggregated data to refine its action plans on AMR.
Expected institutional follow-up EFSA plans to incorporate feedback from Member States during the first reporting cycle and may issue revised guidance by 2027. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is expected to align its human health AMR reporting with this guidance to ensure seamless One Health data integration.
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