LAUSR

AIM The aim of the study is to assess the epidemiological situation of salmonellosis in 2017 in Poland compared to the previous years. MATERIAL AND METHODS The assessment of the epidemiological situation was performed on the basis of data submitted to the Department of Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Surveillance NIPH-NIH by sanitaryepidemiological stations by means of the Epidemiological Case Reporting System (SRWE) and the Registry of Epidemic Outbreaks (ROE), along with data from the annual bulletin “Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland in 2017” (NIPH-NIH, CSI, Warsaw 2018), and information from the laboratories of Sanitary epidemiological Stations as well as data from the Department of Demographic Studies of the Central Statistical Office. RESULTS In 2017, 10 000 cases of Salmonella infection were registered in Poland, 9 710 were cases of intestinal salmonellosis, 290 were forms of extraintestinal salmonellosis. The incidence rate per 100 thousand population was 26.0. The hospitalization rate for all salmonellosis cases was 63.3%. Confirmed cases accounted for 92,1% of all cases, the remaining 7.9% were probable cases. Peak incidence occurred, as in previous years, in the summer months. The voivodships with the largest number of cases caused by Salmonella were the Mazowieckie and Małopolskie voivodeships, the least was recorded in the Lubuskie voivodeship. The age group in which the highest percentage of food poisonings was recorded were children aged 0-4, while extraintestinal forms most often concerned people aged over 60. 278 food poisoning outbreaks were recorded, in which Salmonella Enteritidis was the most frequently isolated serotype. This serotype was most often isolated in foodborne outbreaks and in sporadic cases, it is responsible for 92% of all salmonellosis. Salmonella infection was found in 0.2% of people working with food and in 8.1% of contacts of the cases. According to data from the Central Statistical Office, 10 people died of salmonellosis in 2017. CONCLUSIONS In 2017, the number of people infected with Salmonella was as high as in 2016, the reason for the persistence of such a high number of cases may be the association of some infections with an international salmonellosis outbreak, the peak of which was in 2016. The high incidence of salmonellosis may also be a consequence of legal changes introduced in 2014 regarding the reporting of positive test results by laboratories for epidemiological surveillance.