A two-year-old girl has been hospitalised for vitamin deficiencies, thought to have been brought about by a poorly implemented vegan diet.

The girl was admitted in a serious condition to Istituto Giannina Gaslini, a children's hospital in Genoa, Italy. She was kept in intensive care for several days, but is now showing signs of recovery.

The child’s parents are also vegan and strictly controlled her diet, La Repubblica reported. In addition to being raised on a strict vegan diet, the girl was also breastfed by her mother while she was on the same diet.

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After the girl became ill, her parents took her to hospital on the advice of local doctors.

Specialist doctors found the girl was underweight and suffering from a vitamin B12 deficiency and low haemoglobin levels, according to the newspaper.

She was also reported to be suffering from some associated symptoms, such as slow reactions and sluggish movements.

Vitamin B12 deficiency in young children can be particularly dangerous. Infants affected can suffer from failure to thrive (poor growth), developmental delay and difficulties with movement. These symptoms can become permanent if left untreated.

Tests are also being carried out to check for the possibility of hereditary diseases which may have contributed to the girl’s condition.

While authorities do not believe the child’s parents to be abusive, they could still be charged with neglect and the case is likely to go before the Juvenile Court.

Shape Created with Sketch. Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Show all 25 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Celebrity vegans and vegetarians 1/25 Ariana Grande, pop star "I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding. But I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-round happier person." Ariana Grande/Facebook 2/25 Paul McCartney, musician "I've been a vegetarian for a long time now and over the years I've seen how the attitudes have changed around the world, so I'm not surprised when I see new research that shows more and more people are increasingly adopting 'meat free eating'." Getty Images 3/25 Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host "It doesn't make [Thanksgiving] harder at all. It makes it easier on the turkeys, too. They get to live." Reuters 4/25 Morrissey, musician "I see no difference between eating animals and paedophilia." Getty 5/25 Bill Clinton, former president of the US Dr Dean Ornish, Clinton's doctor, said: "I asked him, 'Why do you want to live longer?' and he said, 'I want to live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle and to see my grandkids born and grow up.'" Getty 6/25 Peter Dinklage, actor Dinklage has been a vegetarian since childhood and featured in PETA's 'Face Your Food' film. WireImage 7/25 Russell Brand, comedian "I'm now vegan, goodbye eggs, hello Ellen." PA 8/25 Ellie Goulding, singer "I've got taxidermy, I've got animals.... deer and all sorts. But weirdly, I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat meat. I'm a walking contradiction." Getty 9/25 Ellen Page, actor Page was named as one of PETA's 'Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities' in 2014. Getty Images 10/25 Al Gore, American politician "There are 10 vegan restaurants in Nashville now." Speaking about how he maintains his vegan diet in the city. Getty Images 11/25 Tobey Maguire, actor Maguire said he was a vegan and "stopped consuming any mind-altering substances" when he was 19. 12/25 Stella McCartney On her website, McCartney said that "the decision not to use leather or fur is not just because I don’t eat animals or that I think that millions of animals each year shouldn’t be killed for the sake of fashion. It’s because I also believe in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There’s a huge connection." 13/25 Natalie Portman, actor Portman converted from being a vegan to vegetarianism. Getty 14/25 Woody Harrelson, actor "I've always been relatively healthy except for my vices." HBO 15/25 Jared Leto, actor and musician "I'm pretty healthy... I've been that way for a long time - 20 solid years of eating vegetarian/vegan and taking care of myself. That probably helps the preservation process." WireImage 16/25 Jessica Chastain, actor It was reported that the vegan actor bought her mother a vegan food truck. AP Photo/Sony - Columbia Pictures, Jonathan Olley 17/25 Joaquin Phoenix, actor Featuring a PETA advert to promote vegetarianism for Thanksgiving, he said: "Holidays can be murder on turkeys. Let's make this one for the birds." 18/25 In March 2018, Beyoncé revealed she was following a plant-based diet when preparing for her headlining performances at Coachella music festival, while Jay-Z wrote about going vegan in a 2013 blog post, describing it as a “spiritual and physical cleanse". Getty Images 19/25 Kate Mara, actor Mara told E! Online that she stayed fit and healthy by being a vegan. Getty Images 20/25 Alanis Morissette, musician "I'm predominantly vegan, which my friends hate because it's not monogamous; 80% is vegan; the other 20% is following what my body needs." Reuters 21/25 Alicia Silverstone, actor Silverston has a blog called The Kind Life which discusses vegan and vegetarian food. Rex Features 22/25 Kate Nash "I became a vegetarian last September - I used to suffer from OCD and it got stuck in my head that if I didn't eat meat then my bunny rabbit, Fluffy, would survive a dangerous operation she had to have." Teri Pengilley 23/25 Jennifer Lopez, singer and actor Lopez said that she recommended a vegan diet "because you wake up and feel great". Getty Images 24/25 Mark Hoppus, member of Blink 182 Hoppus announced he was a vegan on Twitter. Getty Images 25/25 Olivia Wilde, actor "[Being vegan] is not always easy and accessible. But it's a way of life and makes me as a person feel really good and physically look better." Getty Images 1/25 Ariana Grande, pop star "I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding. But I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-round happier person." Ariana Grande/Facebook 2/25 Paul McCartney, musician "I've been a vegetarian for a long time now and over the years I've seen how the attitudes have changed around the world, so I'm not surprised when I see new research that shows more and more people are increasingly adopting 'meat free eating'." Getty Images 3/25 Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host "It doesn't make [Thanksgiving] harder at all. It makes it easier on the turkeys, too. They get to live." Reuters 4/25 Morrissey, musician "I see no difference between eating animals and paedophilia." Getty 5/25 Bill Clinton, former president of the US Dr Dean Ornish, Clinton's doctor, said: "I asked him, 'Why do you want to live longer?' and he said, 'I want to live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle and to see my grandkids born and grow up.'" Getty 6/25 Peter Dinklage, actor Dinklage has been a vegetarian since childhood and featured in PETA's 'Face Your Food' film. WireImage 7/25 Russell Brand, comedian "I'm now vegan, goodbye eggs, hello Ellen." PA 8/25 Ellie Goulding, singer "I've got taxidermy, I've got animals.... deer and all sorts. But weirdly, I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat meat. I'm a walking contradiction." Getty 9/25 Ellen Page, actor Page was named as one of PETA's 'Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities' in 2014. Getty Images 10/25 Al Gore, American politician "There are 10 vegan restaurants in Nashville now." Speaking about how he maintains his vegan diet in the city. Getty Images 11/25 Tobey Maguire, actor Maguire said he was a vegan and "stopped consuming any mind-altering substances" when he was 19. 12/25 Stella McCartney On her website, McCartney said that "the decision not to use leather or fur is not just because I don’t eat animals or that I think that millions of animals each year shouldn’t be killed for the sake of fashion. It’s because I also believe in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There’s a huge connection." 13/25 Natalie Portman, actor Portman converted from being a vegan to vegetarianism. Getty 14/25 Woody Harrelson, actor "I've always been relatively healthy except for my vices." HBO 15/25 Jared Leto, actor and musician "I'm pretty healthy... I've been that way for a long time - 20 solid years of eating vegetarian/vegan and taking care of myself. That probably helps the preservation process." WireImage 16/25 Jessica Chastain, actor It was reported that the vegan actor bought her mother a vegan food truck. AP Photo/Sony - Columbia Pictures, Jonathan Olley 17/25 Joaquin Phoenix, actor Featuring a PETA advert to promote vegetarianism for Thanksgiving, he said: "Holidays can be murder on turkeys. Let's make this one for the birds." 18/25 In March 2018, Beyoncé revealed she was following a plant-based diet when preparing for her headlining performances at Coachella music festival, while Jay-Z wrote about going vegan in a 2013 blog post, describing it as a “spiritual and physical cleanse". Getty Images 19/25 Kate Mara, actor Mara told E! Online that she stayed fit and healthy by being a vegan. Getty Images 20/25 Alanis Morissette, musician "I'm predominantly vegan, which my friends hate because it's not monogamous; 80% is vegan; the other 20% is following what my body needs." Reuters 21/25 Alicia Silverstone, actor Silverston has a blog called The Kind Life which discusses vegan and vegetarian food. Rex Features 22/25 Kate Nash "I became a vegetarian last September - I used to suffer from OCD and it got stuck in my head that if I didn't eat meat then my bunny rabbit, Fluffy, would survive a dangerous operation she had to have." Teri Pengilley 23/25 Jennifer Lopez, singer and actor Lopez said that she recommended a vegan diet "because you wake up and feel great". Getty Images 24/25 Mark Hoppus, member of Blink 182 Hoppus announced he was a vegan on Twitter. Getty Images 25/25 Olivia Wilde, actor "[Being vegan] is not always easy and accessible. But it's a way of life and makes me as a person feel really good and physically look better." Getty Images

According to nutrition experts, children can follow vegan diets, but caution should be exercised.

“It is a very strict diet, but a child can follow,” paediatrician Alberto Ferrando told the newspaper. “Only provided that they are cared for, with continuous checks by a paediatrician who is ready to take action against deficiencies in vitamins or other elements that are dangerous to the health of a small child.”

Dr Ferrando added: "The lack of B12 causes irreversible neurological damage. If action is taken fast to rebalance the conditions, the more chances you have of recovering the health of the child. Unfortunately, the damage is much greater in the youngest."