The European Commission has removed Cryptosporidium from its list of communicable diseases subject to epidemiological surveillance at EU level.

Cryptosporidiosis, the infection caused by the parasite, is a common but predominantly mild gastrointestinal illness, according to the Commission. While it can trigger local waterborne outbreaks, the Commission concluded the disease has no cross-border public health dimension that would justify continued EU-level monitoring.

The decision also removed Giardiasis from the surveillance list. Like Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis tends to cause local outbreaks of limited diarrhea, and regulators found no basis for tracking it across borders.

Both pathogens remain relevant to food and water safety operators in hospitality settings, where waterborne outbreaks can occur locally even without EU-wide tracking. The change means outbreak data for these two parasites will no longer be collected through the EU's communicable disease surveillance framework, shifting detection and response responsibility toward national and local health authorities.