Between 2017 and 2022, more than one in 10 French households were infested by bed bugs. Contrary to popular belief, their presence does not indicate a lack of cleanliness, and anyone can fall victim to an infestation in their home. Moreover, bed bugs are a costly nuisance for households in metropolitan France, considering the expense of treatment and the psychological impact. The Agency therefore recommends that certain households be provided with financial assistance to cover the costs associated with exterminating bed bugs. It also recommends that professionals and private individuals favour alternative control methods instead of chemical insecticides.

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) bacteria can cause potentially severe foodborne infections, mainly in young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. In a new expert appraisal, ANSES classifies the strains of the bacterium responsible for serious forms of infection and makes recommendations for improving the monitoring of contamination risks in products before they are placed on the market. In this context, the Agency is reiterating the importance of continuing to apply good hygiene measures and comply with cooking recommendations; moreover, it notes that susceptible population groups should continue to avoid eating certain foods.

Blooms of Ostreopsis microalgae have caused almost 900 cases of poisoning on the Basque coast since 2021. ANSES has recommended a series of measures to protect the populations most at risk, in particular professionals working on or near the beaches.

Many food supplements contain plants, particularly medicinal plants, which may pose a health risk due to possible interactions with medicines, contraindications, etc. Yet consumers are not necessarily informed of such risks. In order to avoid these adverse effects, ANSES has published an opinion and provided healthcare professionals with a tool to help them better inform their patients about 118 medicinal plants used in food supplements.

Ticks of the genus Hyalomma, which have been observed in the south of France for several years, could potentially spread throughout metropolitan France as a result of climate change. These ticks can transmit Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), among other diseases. No indigenous cases have been detected in humans in France, but cases are recorded every year in Spain. In its scientific expert appraisal, ANSES confirms the risk of emergence and calls for the nationwide surveillance of these ticks.

ANSES believes that the European Commission's new Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial, published on 10 June 2022, is too restrictive and could lead to a regression in the protection of public health and the environment. The Agency is therefore urging the French authorities to take a more inclusive definition into account and work towards its integration in the revision of sectoral regulations at European level. With this in mind, the Agency has listed all the criteria needed to define nanoscale objects whose possible health effects warrant assessment.

Following the provision of new data from the French Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB) and the French Frequency Agency (ANFR), ANSES has updated the expert appraisal on Linky smart electricity meters it conducted in 2017. The Agency confirms that there is little likelihood of exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by Linky meters generating health effects in the short or long term.

Health crises caused by avian influenza have been recurring and growing in scale, which means that preventive measures on French poultry farms need to be reinforced. The vaccination of poultry is a possible option that is being considered to supplement the biosecurity measures already in place on these farms. To help the public authorities establish a vaccination strategy that could be implemented as early as autumn 2023, ANSES is proposing three preventive vaccination scenarios. They aim to protect poultry sectors and limit the spread of the virus by determining the types of farms and the species to be vaccinated as a priority, depending on the available vaccination resources.

ANSES’s Laboratory for Hydrology periodically conducts campaigns to assess chemical compounds in drinking water that are not (or not sufficiently) sampled during routine monitoring. The data from the latest campaign are published today. This is an overview of the main findings, including analyses of more than 150 pesticides and pesticide metabolites and approximately 50 explosives residues.

The harmonised classification proposals submitted by ANSES under the CLP Regulation (on classification, labelling and packaging of products) aim to better manage the risks associated with the use of 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) at European level. These substances, used in the manufacture of polymers and resins, are found in many products including cosmetics and personal care products. They can cause allergic and irritant reactions, especially for professionals. These classification proposals have been available for public consultation since 13 March 2023 on the website of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to enable all stakeholders to comment or provide additional information on these substances.