A deadly outbreak in California has been traced to consumption of death cap mushrooms.
More than three dozen people have been poisoned, with four of them having died and three needing liver transplants according to the California Department of Public Health.
The department reported that there is an unusually high number of wild mushrooms because of recent rainy weather. This is encouraging people to forage for mushrooms. The department is discouraging this because the deadly mushrooms can easily be mistaken for safe varieties.
Many of the patients who sought medical attention suffered from rapidly evolving acute liver injury and liver failure. Several patients required admission to intensive care units. Patients have ranged in age from 19 months to 67 years old, the health department reported.
Typically there are between two and five poisonings from death cap mushrooms reported annually, according to a statement from Dr. Craig Smollin, medical director for the San Francisco Division of the California Poison Control System.
“The main thing this year is just the magnitude, the number of people ingesting this mushroom,” Smollin said. “Having almost 40 is very unusual.”
Even a small amount of death cap mushrooms can be fatal, and experts warn that a mushroom’s color is not a reliable way of detecting its toxicity, and whether the death cap variety is raw, dried or cooked does not make a difference.
People can have stomach cramping, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting within 24 hours or less after ingesting a toxic mushroom and the situation can quickly deteriorate after that, according to the health department. Early symptoms may also go away within a day, but serious to fatal liver damage can still develop within two to three days.
In recent weeks death cap mushrooms have been collected in local and national parks across Northern California and the Central Coast. Clusters have been identified in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas as well.
The death cap is one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world and is part of a small group of mushrooms containing amatoxins, which are highly potent compounds causing 90 percent of fatal mushroom poisonings globally.
The public health department said those poisoned in California have included many Spanish, Mixteco, and Mandarin Chinese speakers. In response, the state has expanded its warnings in different languages. Spanish was the primary language for more than 60 percent of people poisoned, according to the health department.
The death cap resembles many fungi varieties from around the world that are safe to eat, and it changes in appearance in different stages, Smollin said, going from a brownish-white cap to a greenish cap.
Children have been among those poisoned this year. Officials advise keeping an eye on children and pets outside where mushrooms grow, and buying mushrooms from trusted grocery stores and sellers.
Treatment is more difficult once symptoms start so doctors advise people to seek medical care once someone becomes aware that they have eaten a poisonous mushroom or suspect they have.
U.S. Poison Control Centers can be reached in case of an emergency poisoning or for questions about mushrooms at 800-222-1222 or PoisonHelp.org.
