- Fabrizio Anniballi1,2, Bruna Auricchio1,2, Alfonsina Fiore1, Davide Lonati3, Carlo Alessandro Locatelli3, Florigio Lista4, Silvia Fillo4, Giuseppina Mandarino5, Dario De Medici1
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsAffiliations: 1 National Reference Centre for Botulism, Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy 2 These authors contributed equally to this work 3 Poison Control Centre and National Toxicology Information Centre, IRCCS Maugeri Foundation Hospital, Pavia, Italy 4 Histology and Molecular Biology Unit, Section Two, Army Medical and Veterinary Research Centre, Rome, Italy 5 PENTA - The Joint Laboratory on Models and Methodology to Predict and Manage Large Scale Threats to Public Health, International Affairs Unit, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, ItalyFabrizio Anniballifabrizio.anniballi iss.it
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Citation style for this article: Anniballi Fabrizio, Auricchio Bruna, Fiore Alfonsina, Lonati Davide, Locatelli Carlo Alessandro, Lista Florigio, Fillo Silvia, Mandarino Giuseppina, De Medici Dario. Botulism in Italy, 1986 to 2015. Euro Surveill. 2017;22(24):pii=30550. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.24.30550 Received: 08 Aug 2016; Accepted: 03 Feb 2017
Botulism in Italy, 1986 to 2015
Abstract
Botulism is a rare but severe neuroparalytic disease caused by botulinum toxins. Because of its high potential impact on public health, botulism is a closely monitored communicable disease in Europe. In Italy, which has one of the highest incidence rates in Europe (0.03 cases per 100,000 population), botulism is monitored through a case-based passive surveillance system: the front-line physician who diagnoses a suspected case must notify the Local Health Units immediately, and the Ministry of Health's office within 12 hours. From 1986 to 2015, 466 confirmed cases of botulism were recorded in Italy (of 1,257 suspected cases). Of these, 421 were food-borne (the most frequently seen form of botulism due to the consumption of improperly home-canned foods), 36 were infant botulism, which accounts for ca 50% of all these types of cases registered in Europe, six were wound-related and three were due to adult intestinal colonisation. This scenario suggests that stronger efforts should be made towards raising public awareness of the risk of food-borne botulism, especially with respect to home-preserved foods, as well as improving the training of front-line medical personnel, to ensure that a quick and accurate diagnosis of botulism can be made.

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