Overview
- The death, announced Sunday by his father, removes 13‑year‑old Mattia Maestri after nine years in a wakeful coma that began in June 2017.
- Doctors say Mattia fell ill hours after eating raw‑milk cheese contaminated with enterohemorrhagic E. coli, which progressed to hemolytic‑uremic syndrome and caused irreversible brain damage.
- Italy’s highest court confirmed in March 2025 that the dairy’s then‑president and a cheesemaker bore legal responsibility for the contamination.
- Mattia’s father has spent years campaigning for stronger warnings on raw‑milk products, published a book about the case, and announced he will seek manslaughter charges against those he holds responsible.
- Public‑health context shows EHEC infections occur regularly in Europe but rarely prove fatal, and this case is likely to sharpen calls for clearer labeling and tighter controls on unpasteurized dairy.