In October 2013, the bacterium was found infecting olive trees in the region of Apulia in southern Italy.
The disease caused rapid decline in olive grove yields and by April 2015 was affecting the whole Province of Lecce and other zones of Apulia  
even though it had not previously been confirmed in Europe.
The subspecies involved in Italy is X. fastidiosa subsp.
pauca which shows a marked preference for olive trees and warm conditions and is thought unlikely to spread to Northern Europe.

The cycle in olives has been called olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS; in Italian: complesso del disseccamento rapido dell'olivo).
The disease causes withering and desiccation of terminal shoots, distributed randomly at first but then expanding to the rest of the canopy  resulting in the collapse and death of trees.
In affected groves, all plants normally show symptoms.
The most severely affected olives are the century-old trees of local cultivars Cellina di Nardò and Ogliarola salentina.

By 2015, the disease had infected up to a million olive trees in Apulia  and Xylella fastidiosa had reached Corsica, By October 2015, it had reached Mainland France, near Nice, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, affecting the myrtle-leaf milkwort (Polygala myrtifolia).
This is the subspecies X. fastidiosa subsp.
multiplex which is considered to be a genetic variant of the bacterium, different to that found in Italy.
On 18 August 2016 in Corsica, 279 foci of the infection have been detected, concentrated mostly in the south and the west of the island.
In August 2016, the bacterium was detected in Germany in an oleander plant.
In January 2017 it was detected in Mallorca and Ibiza.
In June 2017, it was detected in the Iberian peninsula, specifically in Guadalest, Alicante.
In 2018 it was detected in Spain  and Portugal  and in Israel in 2019 .
In October 2013, the bacterium was found infecting olive trees in the region of Apulia in southern Italy. The disease caused rapid decline in olive grove yields and by April 2015 was affecting the whole Province of Lecce and other zones of Apulia  
even though it had not previously been confirmed in Europe. The subspecies involved in Italy is X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca which shows a marked preference for olive trees and warm conditions and is thought unlikely to spread to Northern Europe.
The cycle in olives has been called olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS; in Italian: complesso del disseccamento rapido dell'olivo). The disease causes withering and desiccation of terminal shoots, distributed randomly at first but then expanding to the rest of the canopy  resulting in the collapse and death of trees. In affected groves, all plants normally show symptoms. The most severely affected olives are the century-old trees of local cultivars Cellina di Nardò and Ogliarola salentina.
By 2015, the disease had infected up to a million olive trees in Apulia  and Xylella fastidiosa had reached Corsica, By October 2015, it had reached Mainland France, near Nice, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, affecting the myrtle-leaf milkwort (Polygala myrtifolia). This is the subspecies X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex which is considered to be a genetic variant of the bacterium, different to that found in Italy. On 18 August 2016 in Corsica, 279 foci of the infection have been detected, concentrated mostly in the south and the west of the island. In August 2016, the bacterium was detected in Germany in an oleander plant. In January 2017 it was detected in Mallorca and Ibiza. In June 2017, it was detected in the Iberian peninsula, specifically in Guadalest, Alicante. In 2018 it was detected in Spain  and Portugal  and in Israel in 2019 .
Xylella fastidiosa