Italy records four deaths in botulism outbreak linked to contaminated food

Rome [Italy], August 20 : Public concern is growing in Italy as several people have been hospitalised after consuming contaminated food, with botulinum food poisoning claiming the life of a 62-year-old woman in Sardinia on Tuesday. This brings the death toll in the country to four, Euro News reported.

Valeria Sollai had been in the hospital in Monserrato, in the province of Cagliari, for several weeks. The woman had consumed a guacamole dish at the Fiesta Latina in Monserrato at the end of July.

The same dish had earlier caused the death of Roberta Pitzalis, 36, who died at the Businco hospital in Cagliari, with the cause of death confirmed by autopsy. A 14-year-old girl remains hospitalised in the same city, Euro News reported.

In addition to the two Sardinian victims, two other people died in Calabria from botulism. The cases have been traced back to contaminated industrial and household preserves.

Carlo Alessandro Locatelli, director of the Maugeri Poison Control Centre in Pavia, told Euro News, "There is no alarm, but prevention is crucial, especially in the preparation of home preserves."

He added, "Botulinum toxin is invisible and often does not alter the taste of food. The antidote is only effective in the early stages, when the toxin is still in the bloodstream."

In recent weeks, the two outbreaks in Sardinia and Calabria have raised public concern. The Calabrian cluster involves 18 people who, in the first week of August in Diamante, in the province of Cosenza, consumed sandwiches with sausage and friarielli, a type of broccoli, bought from a street vendor.

Luigi di Sarno, 52, and Tamara D'Acunto, 45, died after consuming the contaminated vegetables. Ten people are under investigation by the Paola public prosecutor's office, including the street vendor, three managers of companies producing the product, and six doctors from two health facilities in the Cosenza area who treated the victims before they died. They face charges of culpable homicide, culpable personal injury, and trading in harmful foodstuffs, Euro News reported.

According to the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (Higher Institute of Health), analyses revealed that the poisoning was caused by more than one foodstuff, not just the friarielli used in the sandwiches.

Euro News reported that between 2001 and 2020, Italy recorded 452 laboratory-confirmed cases of botulism, with an average lethality rate of 3.1 per cent. About 91 per cent of cases are foodborne, often linked to home-canned goods.

In 2023, Italy recorded the highest number of botulism cases in Europe, with 36 confirmed reports, followed by Germany (16), France (15), Romania, and Spain (14 each). Experts say the Italian canning tradition, especially in southern regions, contributes to this high incidence.

Home preservation of food, if not done correctly, can promote the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium responsible for botulism. Symptoms can appear from six hours up to seven days after consuming contaminated food and include double vision, dilated pupils, drooping eyelids, difficulty speaking and swallowing, dry mouth, and constipation. Severe cases can impair breathing, necessitating intubation, Euro News reported.

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