They ate a sandwich bought at a food truck parked in Diamante and after a few hours began experiencing blurred vision and vomiting . Taken last night by their families to Cosenza, the two 17-year-olds were admitted to the intensive care unit with a guarded prognosis for suspected botulism food poisoning .
And now there's speculation that it's a real outbreak. This morning, two 40-year-old women were admitted to the same ward, while the Cosenza hospital is receiving reports of other suspected cases occurring in the Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza and which could converge on the same hospital in the coming hours.
Relatives of the four hospitalized patients reported that their relatives' illnesses began after purchasing turnip greens sandwiches at a grocery store, and based on their symptoms, doctors suspect botulism . Two of the hospitalized patients were injected with an anti-botulinum toxin immune serum sent from Taranto. Seven more doses are arriving from Rome by air ambulance, "thanks," said Andrea Bruni, head of intensive care, "to the availability and prompt action of Franco Locatelli, president of the Higher Health Council." One of the vials will be used for a patient already hospitalized, while the other six will be left as a reserve for any future cases.
The mayor of Diamante , a popular tourist destination on the Tyrrhenian coast near Cosenza, urges people to avoid "totally unjustified alarmism" given that "there is no certain evidence that the alleged poisoning is related to the activity." The Cosenza Provincial Health Authority has begun investigations, taking samples of the various foods present in the food truck and, according to Mayor Achille Ordine, "as a precautionary measure, has placed the business under a health blockade."
The poisoning cases in Cosenza are now in addition to the eight reported at the end of July in Monserrato . Among them , who was urgently transferred to the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome in recent days. . He will undergo surgery in the coming days, after a lengthy period of intubation, to ensure more stable breathing and reduce the risks associated with mechanical ventilation.
