A rare case of the Toscana virus has been confirmed in Scafati in a 34-year-old man hospitalized in the Infectious Diseases Unit of the Mauro Scarlato Hospital.
The patient presented to the Nocera emergency room on August 24 with persistent fever, severe frontal headache, dizziness, and difficulty moving his neck. His medical history revealed a stay in the Marche region during the first week of August, the presumably time of his infection by the sandfly vector of the virus.
The Toscana virus, known for decades in the Mediterranean basin, is generally asymptomatic or causes mild symptoms, but in some cases it can cause serious central nervous system infections such as meningitis, encephalitis, or meningoencephalitis.
In this case, the patient exhibited significant neurological symptoms that required urgent transfer to the specialized facility in Scafati, where a combined steroid and antiviral therapy was started.
Microbiological tests confirmed the presence of the virus in the cerebrospinal fluid, and thanks to the therapies administered, the patient showed clinical improvement within days of hospitalization. The Salerno Local Health Authority (ASL) emphasized that the virus is not transmitted from person to person, but through the bite of the insect vector. The case attracted public attention, partly due to the recent diagnosis of the same virus in a public figure, but it remains a little-known and often underestimated condition.
The event highlights the importance of timely diagnosis and specialized treatment for conditions of this type, especially in areas where the virus is endemic or can emerge seasonally, as is the case in the Italian regions affected by the phenomenon.
