Italy, 3,000+ Salmonella cases by 2023

The annual report on zoonoses ‘The European Union One Health 2023 Zoonoses Report’, published by EFSA and ECDC and drafted under the coordination of the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), has highlighted an increase in listeriosis cases between 2019 and 2023 in Italy, despite a 66.7% reduction in reported cases since 2022. The document is based on data collected in 2023 from 27 EU states, Northern Ireland (limited to data on food and animals and outbreaks of foodborne diseases), and 10 other non-EU European countries. As the report shows, in 2023, 171 foodborne outbreaks were recorded in Italy, representing 3.0% of all EU outbreaks, involving 1,271 human cases, with 349 hospitalizations and 3 deaths. Between 2014 and 2023, there was a statistically significant increase in the number of foodborne outbreaks observed in Italy, with Salmonella accounting for the largest number of outbreaks, cases, and hospitalisations where the causative agent could be identified. In the five years 2019-2023, salmonellosis was the most frequent zoonosis in Italy, with 3,333 reported cases. Listeria monocytogenes was the causative agent responsible for the highest number of deaths in outbreaks (2 deaths). In 41 outbreaks the causative agent could not be identified.