Botulism Epidemic in Italy: Identifying Symptoms Promptly
In recent weeks, Italy has raised health alarms after two different outbreaks of botulism were detected in Calabria and Sardinia. The most serious one, in the town of Diamante, province of Cosenza, has left two people dead and twelve hospitalized, after several individuals consumed sandwiches with sausages and broccoli bought from a street vendor.
## A summer marked by food poisoning
Among the victims are Luigi di Sarno, 52, and Tamara D’Acunto, 45, while fourteen other people remain hospitalized at the Annunziata Hospital in Cosenza, six of them in intensive care and three in the pediatric area.
The Paola Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation involving nine individuals, including the street vendor, company executives, and doctors, for alleged crimes ranging from manslaughter to trading harmful products. The food truck involved has been seized and autopsies have been ordered on the victims.
The second outbreak has occurred in Sardinia and is attributed to contaminated industrial sauce. The Maugeri Poison Control Center in Pavia has noted that Italy records around 40 cases of botulism each year, most linked to homemade canned goods.
According to Professor Carlo Alessandro Locatelli, director of the center, botulinum toxin does not alter the taste or appearance of food, making detection difficult. He emphasized that the antidote is effective only if administered in the early stages, before the toxin binds to the body.
## What is botulism and how to prevent it
Botulism is a rare but serious disease caused by one of the most potent toxins known. Symptoms include double vision, drooping eyelids, difficulty speaking or swallowing, and in severe cases, respiratory paralysis requiring intubation.
Italian authorities recommend in the preparation of canned goods, avoiding giving honey or homemade canned foods to children under one year of age, and seeking immediate emergency care for any suspicion of poisoning.
The Ministry of Health ensures that the country’s food control system is one of the most effective in Europe, with rapid withdrawal mechanisms and continuous clinical monitoring of patients. In Calabria, doses of antidote have already been distributed to hospitals to expedite medical response.
## Italy, European leader in botulism cases
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità has confirmed that between 2001 and 2020, 452 cases of botulism were detected in the country, with an average lethality of 3.1%. In 2023, Italy once again topped the European figures with 36 confirmed cases, surpassing France, Germany, Romania, and Spain.
Experts point to the strong canning tradition in the southern regions as one of the factors explaining the high incidence. Inadequate sterilization of containers and food can allow the proliferation of the bacteria.
