Italian singer dies after consuming contaminated broccoli sandwich amid botulism outbreak

A contaminated sandwich caused the death of 52-year-old Italian musician Luigi Di Sarno. The singer and nine others accompanying him had a broccoli and sausage sandwich from a street food vendor in Diamante, Calabria. Sarno collapsed after eating the sandwich, while the others were rushed to a nearby hospital. As per a report by news outlet The Mirror, the sandwich was contaminated with toxins, and the hospital suspected it could be a case of botulism. Notable cases have triggered a recall of broccoli in Italy.

Botulism outbreak in Italy:

In a statement, the Calabria Region's Department of Health and Welfare said, "The emergency procedure established in these cases has been activated, which requires immediate notification to the Poison Control Center in Pavia, the only national centre designated for the management of botulism.”

Further added, "No region or hospital in the country is authorised to store the antivenom in their own facilities. This serum, however, is exclusively available to the Ministry of Health, which holds it in designated secure locations and distributes it only through the Lombardy Poison Control Centre. The first two vials, used for the first patients, were sent directly from the Military Pharmacy in Taranto. However, as the number of cases increased, additional supplies became necessary.”

Also mentioned, "Yesterday, the Calabria Region, through Azienda Zero, provided a 118 aircraft that flew to the San Camillo Hospital in Rome, where the ministry had centralised additional vials of the antivenom to facilitate distribution.”