由婴儿配方奶粉中的蜡样芽孢杆菌毒素引发的多国食源性事件

Multi-countryfoodborneeventcaused by 19February2026 Abstract From 19 December 2025 to13February 2026,sixEUcountries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France,LuxembourgandSpain)andthe UnitedKingdomreportedinfantswithgastrointestinalsymptomsandconsumption ofinfantformula.Mostpresentedwithmild symptoms, butsomehospitalisationsoccurreddue to In December 2025,food companies in multiple countries initiated the recall of several infant formula productsacross various brands and batches containingarachidonic acidoil ingredient contaminated with cereulide.On 2February,EFSApublished an assessment which estimatedconcerning levels ofcereulidein infant formula.The Investigations are ongoing toidentify caseswhich may bepart ofthiseventand verifyifrecalled batches,orother batches of infant formula products,served as the vehicle ofillness.Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg andtheUKreportedinfantswithsymptomsandthedetection of cereulide inproductsconsumed. Denmark, France Symptomsof cereulideintoxicationare generally mild, but infants under six months are more vulnerable todehydration and electrolyte disturbancesthan older children.Theimpact of exposure to the toxin is assessedas low to moderate depending on the age of the child.Large‑scale control measureswereimplemented to Event background On the 19 December 2025, Denmark reportedreceiving signals ofgastrointestinaldisease in infants aftertherecallof infant formulainitiated in December(event ID2025-FWD-00107EpiPulse,the EuropeanSurveillancePortal forInfectiousDiseases).Countries were asked to share information about theirinvestigations following therecalltoidentifyapossible link betweentherecalledinfantformulabatchesand cases of gastrointestinal disease in B.cereuscan causetwo forms of toxin‑mediatedillness:anemeticform(nausea and vomiting)andadiarrhoeal form. The emeticformis causedbycereulide,a highly thermostable toxin produced in food before consumptionand implicated in the present event.Cereulide causes suddenonsetofnausea and vomiting shortly after ingestion.Theincubation periodrangesfrom 30 minutes tosix to eighthours. Diagnosisof the emetictype relies on identifying cereulide rather than detecting the bacterium itself.Foodpoisoning caused byB.cereustoxin,regardless of type, is not a notifiable disease in most countriesin the EU/EEA.However, reportingoffoodborneoutbreaks to EFSAwith aggregated informationispossible(Annex 2).Cereulidetoxin analysis in faecal samples is not a method that is available for routine diagnostic purposes in clinicalmicrobiological laboratories.Instead,infoodborneoutbreakscaused by cereulide,outbreakcasesare often The diagnostic challenges and limited surveillance affect the abilityof countriesto confirmhuman casesin thecurrent event.In addition, intoxication with cereulideproduces symptoms that closelymost oftenresemble thoseof viral gastrointestinal infections, which are common in Europe at this time of year. However, viral gastroenteritis Epidemiological and microbiological As of13February2026,investigationswerestillongoing inEuropean countriestoassessthe possible link betweenconsumption ofinfant formulaproductsfromrecalled batches,and cases of gastrointestinal disease ininfants. Informationto ECDCfrom thesevencountries that havereportedobservinginfantswithsymptoms of cereulideintoxication following consumption ofinfant formula productsis summarised below. The majority ofinfantshave presentedwithmild symptoms, but hospitalisations due to dehydration have alsobeen reported.The diagnostic challenges and limited surveillance affect the abilityof countriesto confirm human Austriareportedfourinfantswho developedgastrointestinal symptoms, particularly vomiting,shortlyafterconsuming infant formula.For oneinfant, thecereulidewasdetected in the infant formula consumed,twoinfants,consumedproductswhich werepart of arecalledbatch, andone childhad consumed formulafromanon-recalled Belgiumreportedeightinfants who tested positive based on clinical samples. Alleighthad consumed the recalledinfant formula and experienced favourable clinical outcomes.Cereulide was detected inthe formulaproducts Denmarkreported havingnodiagnostics forhuman samples and thereby no surveillanceof confirmed cases.Suspected cases are not captured in the surveillance system. Thefood safety authorityin Denmarkhasbeencontacted by parents of approximately 32 infants who developed gastrointestinal symptoms (self-reported) after Francereported11infantswho were hospitalised andunder investigation. All infants have recovered andhavereturned home.Fiveof themconsumed recalled infantformula,and it was not possible to confirm consumptionforthe remaining six children. Five of the 11 childrenwho were hospitalisedreceived a differential diagnosisfor thegastro-enteritis symptoms.Two unexplained infant deaths werereportedin France and arecurrentlyunderroutine Luxembourgreportedthreeinfantswho wereexaminedas part of this event.Two infants were hospitalised fordehydrationandhavefullyrecov