(ANSA) - A two-year-old girl who has been poisoned twice in less than one week by packaged food laced with bleach is in a satisfactory condition and in no danger, doctors said on Monday.
The toddler from the nearby town of Peraga di Vogonza was rushed to hospital here on Sunday after feeling ill from eating bread spread with commercial cream cheese.
On the preceding Wednesday, the same child was taken to hospital complaining of pains in her throat and breathing problems after drinking packaged juice her mother had bought from a local supermarket.
Both the fruit juice container and the bin of cream cheese showed signs of having been pricked with a hypodermic needle, through which police presume bleach was injected. Making the coincidence of the small girl being poisoned twice even more unusual was the fact the juice and the cream cheese were purchased in different supermarkets.
The first poisoning of the toddler came three days after a 29-year-old factory worker was taken to a different Padua hospital after drinking a bleach-tainted bottle of mineral water from a vending machine.
A similar incident occurred near the northern city of Treviso last month.
Investigators said it was not yet clear whether the same person was behind the four attacks or whether one or more copycat criminals were at work. Italy was hit by a spate of similar attacks in late 2003 and early last year, triggering widespread panic. Scores of bottled drinks, especially mineral water, were injected with bleach, detergent and weedkiller, and dozens of Italians were taken to hospital.
Most of the drinks were contaminated while they were still on supermarket shelves, although some were apparently injected before they arrived there. Italians were advised to inspect all bottled drinks for tell-tale holes just under the top, which investigators said could indicate something had been injected inside.
Sales of mineral water plummeted as many domestic, restaurant and bar consumers switched to tap water.
