It is a case of medical malpractice that of Andrea Mirabile, the 6-year-old boy from Palermo who died a year ago in Sharm el Sheik while on holiday with his parents in a resort.

The child died of viral or bacterial gastroenteritis of unknown origin "not dealt with promptly and effectively by the doctor in the clinic who, after the first symptoms, examined the victim and then limited himself to prescribing medicines against food poisoning and a drip of physiological solution".

Only one day after being examined, when his conditions were already compromised, Andrea was taken by ambulance to the international hospital in Sharm. The state of dehydration due to the severe dysentery that had struck him was, however, now too serious.

These conclusions were first reached by the Egyptian coroners appointed a year ago by the Sharm prosecutor to perform the autopsy, and now by the experts appointed by the Palermo investigators. Two largely coincident assessments.

Andrea and her parents, Rosalia Manosperti, then 5 months pregnant, and Antonio Mirabile, began to feel ill a few days after arriving in Egypt. Vomiting, severe dysentery for the baby and the father, mild for the mother. Food poisoning said the doctors at the clinic, near the hotel, who gave the family first aid.

The day after the first consultation, as the child's condition deteriorated rapidly, the couple called the clinic again and were told to come back in the afternoon. The parents, however, realizing the seriousness of the case, called an ambulance which took the little one to the hospital. Andrea died immediately after arriving at the hospital despite repeated attempts by the doctors to revive him, while his father was transported to Palermo on a plane made available by the company with which the couple had taken out medical insurance before departure. Mirabile ended up in resuscitation with serious kidney problems, but was treated and discharged a few days later.