Italy is undergoing a profound shift in its infectious disease landscape. The rising temperatures and the broader spread of vectors such as mosquitoes are facilitating the emergence of locally acquired arboviral infections, notably Chikungunya, Dengue, and West Nile Virus. It is no longer a matter of infections brought in by international travelers: outbreaks are increasingly developing on national soil, as evidenced by recent reports in regions like Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy, Tuscany, and Lazio.
The Crucial Role of the General Practitioner
In this new context, the General Practitioner (GP) stands as the first line of clinical detection and containment. Arboviruses often present with nonspecific symptoms—fever, headache, myalgias, and arthralgias—that can easily be downplayed. It is therefore essential that the GP be ready to form an early clinical suspicion, to be confirmed through the reference centers, especially in vulnerable patients.
The Italian Society of General Practitioners and Primary Care (SIMG) has announced its willingness to collaborate with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) to develop specific training pathways for family doctors, aiming to update clinical competencies and strengthen the territorial surveillance system.
A Strengthened Territorial Surveillance Network
As emphasized by SIMG President Alessandro Rossi, “the family physician is the first observer on the ground,” and as such, can intercept suspected cases early. SIMG is ready to deploy a network of trained sentinel physicians, following the positive example of RespiVirNet, the influenza surveillance system. The goal is to establish a capillary and effective surveillance framework for early diagnosis and containment of arboviral outbreaks.
The Importance of Early Diagnosis According to ISS
Timeliness in diagnosis is crucial, as underscored by Anna Teresa Palamara, Director of the ISS’s Department of Infectious Diseases. In particular, for Chikungunya and Dengue, the GP’s role is decisive: these infections are transmitted from person to person through infected mosquitoes, unlike . Recognizing symptoms promptly helps prevent the spread of the virus in the community. In this light, the ISS advocates for widespread diagnostic capacity, starting with general practitioners.
Emilia-Romagna’s Virtuous Model
One encouraging example comes from Emilia-Romagna, where a family doctor promptly diagnosed a case of Chikungunya in the province of Piacenza, contributing to the immediate containment of the outbreak. Federico Gobbi, Scientific Director of IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria in Negrar, highlighted the value of this intervention, emphasizing the need to raise awareness across the entire medical community about including autochthonous arboviruses among diagnostic hypotheses.
A Shared Challenge
Tackling emerging arboviruses requires a synergy between health authorities, scientific research, and territorial medicine. SIMG is committed to providing training tools and clinical support to empower GPs to fully play their strategic role in protecting public health.
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