A second person has died after eating a broccoli sandwich in Italy amid a toxic butolism outbreak that has left multiple people hospitalised.
Last week, 52-year-old artist Luigi Di Sarno was the first to die after eating the panini from a food truck in the town of Diamante in Calabria.
Now, 45-year-old Tamara D’Acunto has also died after eating the food and more than a dozen people have been hospitalised.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the outbreak and ordered a nationwide recall of the commercially produced panini, that left 14 people with food poisoning including two teenagers.
Postmortems are being conducted this week as part of the investigation.
The sandwich contained grilled sausages and an Italian summer vegetable called ‘cime di rapa’ or turnip tops, similar to broccoli.
Nine people are being investigated by the authorities, including the owner of the food truck on the seafront in the province of Cosenza whose vehicle as been seized, The Telegraph reported.
Three employers of the company who allegedly made the sandwich are also being investigated, as well as five doctors who treated victims near the city of Cosenza.
The medics are accused of having not acting quickly enough to save the victims, after Mr Di Sarno’s sister alleged that her brother was discharged from hospital despite still feeling sick and later died.
Botulism is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria.
The neurotoxins attack the body’s nervous system, and can cause respiratory muscle failure, paralysis and death.
Di Sarno, an artist and musician originally from Cercola, in the province of Naples, was on holiday in Calabria with his family.
After they ate the sandwich on the Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza, he began driving back home to Naples. On the way, on the highway near Lagonegro in Potenza, the 52-year-old fell ill.
Others were rushed to Annunziata Hospital in Cosenza, including two 17-year-olds and two women in their 40s. Two of the patients were reportedly in a serious condition when they arrived at the intensive care unit.
The outbreak in Cosenza came just days after a 38-year-old woman died and seven people fell ill with botulism after eating infected guacamole at a festival in Sardinia from July 22 to 24.
An 11-year-old boy was hospitalised in intensive care at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, after being transferred by helicopter from the Brotzu Hospital in Cagliari for poisoning contracted during the Fiesta Latina in Monserrato, La Repubblica reports.
The travelling festival was on its way to Tortolì but was suspended by local authorities.
The Cagliari Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the incident and a recall notice, published by the Ministry of Health, was reportedly issued for Metro Chef avocado pulp.
‘Following two major clusters of botulinum intoxication that occurred in recent weeks in Sardinia and Calabria, the Department of Prevention, Research and Health Emergencies of the Ministry of Health immediately activated all the health protocols,” the health ministry said.
‘The intervention system reacted promptly, ensuring that patients had timely access to life-saving antidote treatments.’
