A WOMAN and her 15-year-old daughter have died from suspected food poisoning after their Christmas Eve dinner.
Gianni Di Vita, wife Antonella and daughter Sara went to A&E on Christmas Day with vomiting and stomach cramps but were sent home.
They returned on Boxing Day only to be sent back home again.
On Saturday, they were admitted a third time to Cardarelli Hospital in Campobasso, Italy.
Sara died a few hours later followed by Antonella, 50, a short time after.
Gianni, 55, is in intensive care in Rome after being airlifted there on Sunday.
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The couple’s other daughter, 20, did not attend the dinner in question, and none of the other guests fell ill.
Investigators are now examining the food consumed including fish, seafood, and mushrooms.
Friends of Sara told local media: ‘We last spoke to Sara on Boxing Day, over the phone.
‘She believed the heavy treatment at the hospital would be sufficient and didn’t expect her condition to deteriorate.’
Doctors initially suspected gastroenteritis, but investigators are now considering botulism, listeria, fulminant hepatitis, or “chemical poisoning” as possible causes of death.
Cardarelli ICU head Dr Vincenzo Cuzzone told local media: “They began showing symptoms after a meal, but the details are still incomplete.
“There was liver failure, followed by a cascade of events, one after another, at extraordinary speed, ultimately leading to multiple organ failure.”
Police have collected food from the family home for laboratory testing.
Town mayor Antonio Tommasone said: “These are hours of great sorrow for all of us.”