Food-borne botulism in Apulia region, Italy: an expert witness testimony

F Fortunato; D Martinelli; M G Cappelli; P Taurisano; G Barbuti; M Quarto; R Prato

doi:10.7416/ai.2019.2270

Food-borne botulism in Apulia region, Italy: an expert witness testimony

Ann Ig. 2019 Mar-Apr;31(2):181-185. doi: 10.7416/ai.2019.2270.

Authors

F Fortunato¹, D Martinelli¹, M G Cappelli¹, P Taurisano¹, G Barbuti², M Quarto², R Prato¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
² Department of Biomedical Science and Human Oncology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.

PMID: 30714615
DOI: 10.7416/ai.2019.2270

Abstract

We report the epidemiology of food-borne botulism in Puglia, Italy, between 1977-2017, using surveillance data and Experts' personal observations. As the disease is rare, the diagnosis is often missed or delayed, and cases are initially misdiagnosed. This was the case of a family outbreak of botulism in the 1970s.

Keywords: Botulism differential diagnosis; Food-borne botulism; Italy; Surveillance.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Aged, 80 and over
Botulism / diagnosis
Botulism / epidemiology*
Disease Outbreaks*
Female
Food Microbiology*
Humans
Italy / epidemiology
Middle Aged
Young Adult