At least 40 guests and staff members required medical treatment after presenting with symptoms including fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and muscle fatigue following the Saturday event, which was attended by roughly 80 guests.

A vital clue emerged from a hotel waiter who spent several days recovering in the intensive care and general wards at Malaga’s Hospital Clínico. The worker revealed to doctors that the only dish he had tasted from the wedding menu was the meat served with hollandaise sauce - an egg yolk emulsion notoriously vulnerable to Salmonella contamination if improperly prepared or stored. Leftovers from the wedding menu had also been served at the staff buffet.

"When I fell ill, I looked like the girl in The Exorcist," the waiter told reporters prior to the official diagnosis, adding that he is now recovering well and hopes to be discharged soon.

At least two hotel staff members required hospitalisation. A female employee was admitted to a private hospital in Benalmádena from Saturday until Tuesday.

While health authorities confirmed the bacterial strain late on Thursday, the health department has not yet formally singled out a specific ingredient as the official investigation continues.

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