As already mentioned, Directive 2003/99/EC of the European Parliament and Council, on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents, which has been transposed to Spanish legislation by Royal Decree 1940/2004 of 27 September, on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents, leaves to door open for other agents where it may be necessary to put specific monitoring and control programmes in place, such as may occur in the future with Campylobacter, where a baseline study is currently being made on its prevalence in broilers, according to the Commission Decision 2007/516/EC of 19 July 2007, concerning a financial contribution from the Community towards a survey on the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. in broiler flocks and on the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. in broiler carcasses to be carried out in the Member States. This study will also serve to collect harmonised data on the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter in chicken carcasses.

Furthermore, the EU-wide effort being made to control the occurrence of specified antimicrobial resistance is important. At present, harmonised studies are being made to obtain information on resistance in Salmonella according to Commission Decision 2007/407/EC of 12 June 2007, on a harmonised monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella in poultry and pigs. The study described above on Campylobacter plans to collect data on the resistance of this bacteria to antimicrobials.

Moreover, a study on the prevalence of methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is being made, making use of the baseline study of the prevalence of Salmonella in breeding pigs, according to Commission Decision 2008/55/EC of 20 December 2007, concerning a financial contribution from the Community towards a survey on the prevalence of Salmonella spp. and Methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in herds of breeding pigs to be carried out in the Member States.