Woman dies and 117 seriously ill after eating sun-dried beef pizza in Brazil

Rayssa was rushed to hospital after falling seriously ill (Picture: Jam Press)

A 44-year-old woman has died,and another 117 people fell ill after eating a unique dish at a pizzeria.

Rayssa Maritein Bezerra e Silva and her boyfriend had a ‘carne de sol’ sun-dried beef pizza at the eatery in Pombal,Brazil,on Sunday,but quickly became unwell.

After returning home,they began to feel worse and went to the hospital,where they were treated and discharged.

Rayssa returned on Monday morning with diarrhoea,vomiting and abdominal pain,and her condition deteriorated ‘rapidly’,the hospital said.

Hospital Regional de Pombal said: ‘She was promptly attended to by the medical team and transferred to the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition,showing signs consistent with a severe infection.’

She died in the hospital on Tuesday morning.

It later emerged that another 117 people sought medical attention in Pombal after eating at the same pizzeria on Sunday.

Rayssa fell seriously ill after eating at the pizzeria (Picture: Jam Press)

Their symptoms included nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,diarrhoea and general malaise – all consistent with food poisoning.

Local health officials have since shut down the pizzeria after an inspection found insects,improperly stored food and other irregularities.

Two people remain in the hospital – an eight-year-old child and a woman.

Lab tests on ingredients from the pizzeria,as well as on Rayssa’s body,will be carried out as part of the police investigation.

Rayssa,an agronomist,worked for the local council’s environment department and had been dating her boyfriend for around a year.

Her cousin,Izabele Freitas,said: ‘She was a cheerful,down-to-earth and warm person. She was fun to be around.’

She was laid to rest in Pombal today as her family called for justice.

In December,more than 40 diners in Wales fell seriously ill after eating a pub’s Sunday lunch.

The Corner House Inn in Llangynwyd,Wales,temporarily shut its doors after Public Health Wales linked customers’ illnesses to meals served there.

While environmental health officers investigated the pub’s premises,the staff did a thorough deep clean and sanitisation.

Clostridium perfringens was identified as the cause of this illness. It’s a bacterium widespread in animals and the environment.