Five doctors of the Cardarelli hospital in Campobasso are under investigation for the death of Sara Di Vita15 years old, and his mother, Antonella Di Ielsi, aged 50, due to food poisoning in Pietracatella, in the province of Campobasso. This is reported by theAnsa, which also specifies that the hypotheses of crime advanced by the Prosecutor’s Office are manslaughter and negligent injury. The woman’s husband, hospitalized Spallanzani of Rome, remains in serious condition.
The symptoms after dinner and the two visits to the emergency room
On Sunday the agents of the Campobasso Flying Squad carried out a large seizure of food in the house in Pietracatella where the family had consumed Christmas meals. They were collected jars, preserves, edible products and waste of food also recovered from wasteincluding shells of clams. At the moment the investigators are not ruling out any hypotheses and are working on all leads, awaiting the results of the technical and toxicological tests.
As reported by Republicthe first ailments appeared after a dinner eaten at home last Tuesday, before the Christmas holidays. Sara and her mother went to the emergency room of the Cardarelli hospital in Campobasso twice, on 25 and 26 December, and were discharged on both occasions. Gastroenteritis was initially hypothesized. Then, the sudden worsening of the clinical conditions, the new hospitalization and death.
The food under scrutiny: “Maybe fish or mushrooms”
According to what we learn, the family had also eaten mushrooms. The investigation, coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office, focuses not only on identifying the possible agent responsible for the intoxication, but also on reconstruction of the sequence of health events, including the first visits to the emergency room in the days preceding the deaths, already subject to the acquisition of medical records and hospital reports. Meanwhile Gianni Di Vita, 55-year-old father of the girl and husband of the woman, who had suffered symptoms together with them, was transferred yesterday toSpallanzani Institute of Rome. His condition is considered stable, but the man remains under close monitoring and is undergoing specialist tests. Checks were also ordered for the eldest daughter, 19 years old, asymptomatic, she would not have eaten Christmas dinner at home.
“He thought the cure would be enough”
Sara’s friends are also speaking: “We had last heard from Sara on Santo Stefano, on the phone”, say Giovanna and Donatella D. and Giuseppe S., friends of the girl since childhood. “She thought the heavy care they gave her in the hospital would be enoughhe absolutely didn’t think that the conditions could get worse.” And they add: “We had planned some parties with friends in recent days. Yesterday we were supposed to go to a birthday party together. He said it would be resolved soon.”
The Di Vita family is well known in the village. Gianni Di Vita was mayor of Pietracatella for two terms and is an accountant for many businesses in the area. His wife Antonella collaborated with him in the studio in Campobasso. Sara attended classical high school in the Molise capital. The couple also has an older daughter, 18 years oldwhich it was taken to hospital in Rome only as a precaution, having shown no symptoms. According to initial investigations, the girl did not participate in the dinner on December 23rd, but only in the larger lunches on Christmas Eve and Christmas.
The doctor: “A very rare clinical evolution”
The precise causes of the deaths are not yet clear. Among the hypotheses under consideration: botulinum, listeria, fulminant hepatitis or chemical poisoning. Vincenzo Cuzzone, head of intensive care at the Cardarelli hospital in Campobasso, explains the severity of the clinical picture: “The clinical pictures had a truly rare evolution which quickly led to death despite the intensive forms of support we put in place.” And he adds: “They began to have symptoms after a meal, but the news is fragmentary. There was liver failureand then a cascade of events, one after the other, with a truly unique rapidity that led to multiple organ failure.”
The prosecutor’s investigation
The Campobasso Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation against unknown persons. The investigations are entrusted to the Flying Squad, led by Marco Graziano. Investigators have acquired medical records, listened to the people informed about the facts and seized the food present in the house, which will be subjected to laboratory analysis. The autopsy on the bodies of mother and daughter has been scheduled for Wednesday.
The country in mourning: “You can’t die like this”
Pietracatella, just over a thousand inhabitants, is surrounded by silence. “A tragedy that leaves us speechless,” declares mayor Antonio Tommasone. “The town is empty now. We are all at home, we don’t know what to say.” The first citizen has city mourning was proclaimed on the day of the funeral and canceled all Christmas initiatives. “I have known Gianni Di Vita for many years, he is now a city councilor. I speak with difficulty. These are hours of great pain for all of us.” In the bars of the town, in addition to dismay, anger emerges. “We want to understand the reason for the intoxication, but above all whether the doctors could have saved them and why they were sent home several times,” some acquaintances tell Repubblica. “You can’t die like this.”
