Two people have now died after eating sandwiches from a food truck in Italy amid a botulism outbreak, according to PEOPLE. The second victim was a 45-year-old woman, Tamara D’Acunto, who died after eating a sausage and turnip top sandwich.
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Death Toll Rises To 2 After Victims Contract Botulism From Eating Sandwiches
52-year-old Luigi Di Sarno was the first victim to die after eating from a food truck on the coast of Diamante in the province of Cosenza. Apart from the first death, 7 News initially reported that nine others were hospitalized due to the sandwiches.
D’Acunto was likely one of the nine hospitalized. She passed away on August 6, her funeral happening a day later, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
PEOPLE has now updated the hospitalization toll to 14 people who have food poisoning. Five of them are seriously ill in the ICU. These patients have symptoms of botulism, which has had a recent outbreak in Italy.
Botulism is a rare condition that can cause life-threatening symptoms, according to Mayo Clinic. A toxin causes this condition, which is produced by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum.
Investigation On Contaminated Food Continues
The Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) confirmed that several foods in the food truck were contaminated, via Corriere del Mezzogiorno. Officials have also ordered the immediate seizure of the affected products and the truck itself.
According to a prosecutor on the case, they assumed the vehicle’s owner had only used “one kitchen tool to handle the food.” Otherwise, the contamination was “inexplicable.”
The ISS is taking this seriously, as ten individuals are under investigation. This includes the street vendor, multiple managers of the companies manufacturing the allegedly contaminated product, and the doctors who reportedly treated D’acunto and Di Santo before they died.
The lawyer representing the street vendor firmly believed the products in the food truck were already contaminated and “were stored in the refrigerator and opened when needed.”
To combat the spread of botulism, officials have given out an anti-toxin serum that can treat it. It’s also important to know how the botulism toxin can spread, which is typically through food. Mayo Clinic said that this toxin thrives in home-canned food that has been improperly stored.