The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) started the publication of a comic strip to raise awareness of Xylella fastidiosa risks for plant health. The communication product, entitled “Fastidious X, the fearsome killer”, leads the readers to discover how science is critical to deal with a pathogen causing severe damage to the economy and the environment, for which there is no cure.

Drawn by illustrator Miriam Rivera, “Fastidious X, the fearsome killer” has been developed by EFSA in collaboration with Miguel Ángel Miranda, an expert at Universidad de las Islas Balerares and a member of EFSA’s Animal Health and Welfare Panel.

The comic is available in English, German, and the languages of EU countries most at risk from the bacteria according to EFSA’s 2019 opinion on the topic: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Croatian and Greek.

The first page of the comic strip has been published on the occasion of International Plant Health Day and is available online on the EFSA website. The next episodes will be available in the coming weeks.