Three dead and more than 100 sick in Italian outbreak

A suspected outbreak of food poisoning that has sickened more than 100 people and killed three is being investigated in Italy.

Four nursing and residential care facilities (RSA) in the Florence area are affected. They share the same cooking center.

From an initial analysis, 114 cases of gastroenteritis with diarrhea and vomiting were found out of 173 guests.

An epidemiological investigation and preventive measures have been taken by the Toscana centro Local Health Authority (AUSL).

Samples of the four available foods – a carrot-based soup, mixed vegetables, rabbit and potatoes, and pizza- suspected of being related to the incident, have been taken for microbiological analysis.

Investigations are ongoing with the collection of documents and other evidence, but some issues have already been found that justified the temporary suspension of meal production operations at the cooking center, said Italian authorities.

Given the difficulty of interviewing patients about the foods consumed, information was collected through nursing staff.

Onset of symptoms occurred on the evening of Feb. 9, with some people needing hospital treatment. There were three deaths. A fourth death occurred but was likely not caused by food poisoning.

Inspections of the facilities are underway as part of the epidemiological investigations to get a complete picture as to the extent of the outbreak.

A statement in Italian media reported Sereni Orizzonti, a provider of residential care for the elderly, as saying all HACCP procedures were correctly followed and staff in the cooking center have the necessary qualifications and training. Previous microbiological analyses on the kitchen in Pelago and food, carried out a month ago, did not reveal any issues.

Eugenio Giani, president of Tuscany, and Serena Spinelli, Councilor for Social Policies, said the incident is especially impactful as people in a fragile condition are affected.

“We join in the pain of the families who have lost their loved ones, and we are close to those who have suffered consequences that are fortunately less serious. It is an event that shocks us. Also for this reason we hope that the investigations will quickly shed light on what happened. As a region, we will follow the matter closely, in close contact with the health authority responsible for carrying out public hygiene checks and monitoring of the people of the four RSAs involved,” they said.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)