On Tuesday, a 62-year-old woman died on Sardinia after eating guacamole during a festival at the end of July, writes La Repubblica.
Earlier, on August 8, a 36-year-old woman died who is also suspected to have been poisoned by the deadly bacteria during the same festival. Several people have also needed hospital care, including a 14-year-old girl who is still being cared for at the hospital.
In addition to the deaths on Sardinia, two people have died in Calabria. Another ten people have been treated in hospital after eating sandwiches with sausage and kale leaves from a food stand. Those responsible for the food stands are now suspected of crime.
Botulism is a rare but serious poisoning caused by a spore-forming bacterium. When it gets to grow, it forms a very powerful toxin that can cause breathing difficulties, muscle paralysis - and in up to ten percent of cases, death. The bacterium is found naturally in some food, but is usually destroyed during cooking and canning.
