A new episode of group food poisoning involved about 60 people in the Caserta area, forcing the health authorities to temporarily close a restaurant in San Marcellino. Among the infected there is also a 20 month old child.
The main symptoms reported by the patients were vomit, diarrhea, nausea and fever, with some more serious cases that required hospitalization in the emergency room of Caserta, Marcianise and Aversa.
What happened
It all started after a birthday party held on August 31, 2025. On September 2, about twenty -five people from the same table showed symptoms of food poisoning and turned to hospitals in the area. Initially, the investigations took into consideration the hypothesis that a single food, such as the birthday cake, was the basis of disorders, but subsequent cases among other customers of the restaurant have excluded this possibility.
The Caserta ASL inspectors have started an in-depth investigation, collecting food samples and checking the restaurant-sanitary conditions of the restaurant. Although serious deficiencies had not been found, the increase in cases led to the preventive closure of the venue. Controls and complete sanitization were arranged under the monitoring of the ASL, while investigating the possible presence of a healthy bearer between the staff.
After the first hospitalizations and analyzes of biological samples, it emerged that intoxication was caused by Salmonella. The hospital confirmed the presence of the bacterium in the patient’s feces, also explaining the speed with which the symptoms had manifested themselves within 24-48 hours from the meal.
The hypothesis of the healthy bearer
As already mentioned, the ASL investigation has excluded that the contamination was due to a single food, such as the cake initially held responsible. The attention of the inspectors therefore focused on a possible transmission from a healthy bearer, that is, a person who, although not manifesting symptoms, can spread the bacterium through the manipulation of food. For this reason, the restaurant was closed and subjected to complete sanitization, while the staff and premises were examined to identify the origin of the contagion.
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