Laboratory of Clinical Diagnostics, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Concetta Scalfaro
Microbiological Food Safety and Food-Borne Diseases Unit, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, National Reference Centre for Botulism, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Daniela Mandas
S.C. Complex Territorial Diagnostic Structure of Cagliari, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Sardinia, Via Dell’Acquedotto Romano, 09030 Elmas-Cagliari, Italy
Manuele Liciardi
S.C. Complex Territorial Diagnostic Structure of Cagliari, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Sardinia, Via Dell’Acquedotto Romano, 09030 Elmas-Cagliari, Italy
Clostridium botulinum is the main causative agent of botulism in humans and animals. The ingestion of the botulinum neurotoxin, usually types C and D, has been shown to produce disease (neurological symptoms) in most botulism cases in cattle. We report an outbreak in Southern Sardinia that involved a livestock farm with 120 animals, 39 of which died. The aim of this report is to describe the course of this outbreak and the progression of symptoms up to the death of some animals; we also describe the therapeutic approach applied in this case and the analytical techniques used to diagnose the disease. Finally, we emphasize the importance of promptly proceeding with the sampling of several matrixes when a suspicion of botulism arises.
