Case series of Salmonella spp. infections confirmed by culture test at the hospital clinical laboratory in L’Aquila (Italy), years 2011-2018

Abstract

In the European Union between 2008 and 2017 there was a statistically significant decrease in the confirmed cases of salmonellosis. Nevertheless, it represents the first cause of food-borne outbreaks and the secondly most frequently reported zoonosis. Considering the pathogen diffusion and clinical consequences, monitoring the incidence of Salmonella spp. infections is a priority for public health. The study is aimed at describing the temporal trend of prevalence of Salmonella spp. positive tested and serotypes characteristics of the isolates by L’Aquila hospital laboratory microbiological analysis in 2011-2018, with a focus on the epidemic phase occurred from October 2013 to May 2014. The survey is a case series report, with a retrospective design. During the period considered, 220 infected carriers were identified, in particular 160 positive samples for Salmonella enterica serogroup B, so it was the main group causing salmonellosis in the area of L’Aquila both in the epidemic period and in the non-epidemic period. Moreover, the proportion of cases in early paediatric age (from one to five years) resulted statistically higher in the epidemic period than in the non-epidemic period. About the possible causes of the outbreak, the hypothesis of an environmental contamination seems to be plausible.