Epidemiology of human salmonellosis in Czechia ─ a country with the highest European notification rate, 2012 to 2023

BACKGROUNDSalmonellosis is the second most notified food-borne infection in Europe. In Czechia (CZ), the notification rate has consistently been above the European average, five times higher in 2013-2022.AIMWe aimed to describe the epidemiology of salmonellosis in CZ in 2012-2023 and identify areas for improving surveillance and public health actions.METHODSWe extracted data on notified salmonellosis cases from the national surveillance system and analysed the dataset for demographic characteristics, hospitalisation, transmission mode and suspected vehicle, descriptively and by chi-square tests and logistic regression.RESULTSIn 2012-2023, 130,990 cases (102.7/100,000 inhabitants) were notified. The overall annual notification rate decreased from 111.7 per 100,000 in 2012-2017 to 94.2 per 100,000 in 2018-2023. Most cases were children and adolescents aged < 15 years (n = 68,370; 52.2%) and most were females (n = 68,425; 52.2%) but males dominated among cases aged < 15 years (35,790/68,370; 52.3%). Few cases were imported (n = 2,627; 2.0%) or outbreak-related (n = 5,361; 4.1%); most were diagnosed in June-October (n = 83,057; 63.4%). Of all notified cases, 22.2% (n = 29,082) were hospitalised. Age of ≥ 40 years was associated with hospitalisation and <i>Salmonella</i> sepsis (p < 0.001). Transmission mode was identified for 59,729 (45.6%) cases.CONCLUSIONDespite a decline, the notification rates of salmonellosis remain high in CZ. The effectiveness of the surveillance system is reflected in relatively low hospitalisation rates compared with some other European countries, yet the source and transmission mode were unidentified in over half of the cases. We encourage enhancing epidemiological investigations, improving sample submission to the National Reference Laboratory and molecular surveillance.