A mother and daughter have tragically died of suspected food poisoning after falling sick on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, the father is in the hospital fighting for his life.
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The chilling incident happened in Italy. Both Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, and her daughter Sara Di Vita, 15, died just hours apart. The two fell ill on Christmas Day. According to Corriere della Sera, the family ate seafood during the Christmas holiday.
Mother and daughter went several times to the hospital but were discharged. Doctors diagnosed them with both food poisoning and gastroenteritis. However, on December 27, doctors admitted Sarah and her mother to intensive care. They passed away just hours apart.
The father of the family, former town mayor Gianni Di Vita, also ended up in the hospital. He experienced similar symptoms, but they were less severe than the mother and daughter.
Christmas Tragedy
The family held a dinner on December 24. They then fell ill a day later. Vincenzo Cuzzone, head of the Intensive Care Unit at Cardarelli Hospital, determined they suffered “multiorgan failure.” However, he said, “[It’s] difficult to pinpoint exactly which meal the episode refers to.”
Police are investigating the terrifying incident. Another daughter, who did not eat with the family, did not fall ill with the symptoms. So police believe that it is food-related. A team of investigators seized food from the family home. They seized an assortment of mussels, cuttlefish, cod, mushrooms, clams, pasta, and tomato sauce.
The Molise Zooprophylactic Institute in Rome is testing the food for toxins and poisons. Meanwhile, police have charged five doctors and two on-call doctors at Cardarelli Hospital in the Christmas tragedy.
Authorities charged them with multiple counts of manslaughter, negligent personal injury, and medical malpractice. This is due to the fact that hospital staff discharged the mother and daughter twice.
Investigators are also considering “accidental contamination of flour with rat poison.” They discovered a flour mill owned by the family was recently disinfected for rats, and may have caused accidental poisoning.