A death cap mushroom may have ended up in the dinner of a mother and daughter who died from food poisoning.
Antonella Di Ielsi and her 15-year-old daughter, Sara, passed away in hospital within hours of each other last weekend.
Sara’s father, Gianni Di Vita, also fell ill after the family developed nausea, stomach cramps and vomiting on Christmas Day night, prompting a visit to the out-of-hours doctor followed by a trip to A&E.
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After being sent home twice, Sara’s condition worsened with astonishing speed on Saturday (27 Dec).
She was admitted to intensive care in Campobasso, Italy, and died later that night. Antonella, 50, passed away the following day (28 Dec).
“I’m feeling better, but I still can’t understand what happened,” said Gianni, 55, who was airlifted to intensive care in Rome on Sunday.
Investigators seized a range of food items and leftovers from the family home in Pietracatella, including clams, mussels, cuttlefish, cod, flour and jars of mushrooms preserved in oil.
Tests have ruled out botulism, as well as contamination from rat poison used during pest control at the family’s granary.
The leading theory is now that an Amanita phalloides – commonly known as a death cap – may have found its way into one of the jars of mushrooms.
Even a small amount, roughly half a cap, can contain enough toxin to kill an adult, as reported by Need To Know.
One of the world’s most dangerous mushrooms – and among the easiest to mistake for edible varieties – it is responsible for around 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide each year.
Symptoms typically appear between 12 and 48 hours after ingestion.
The family ate alone on 23 December and dined with guests the following night.
The couple’s elder daughter Alice, 19, did not attend the meal on the 23rd and did not fall ill.
None of the guests at the Christmas Eve dinner developed symptoms either, leading investigators to focus on the earlier meal.
Prosecutors have placed five doctors who treated the victims and discharged them under investigation for manslaughter and negligence – a routine legal step.
Post-mortem examinations are due to take place today (31 Dec), while laboratory testing remains ongoing.
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