Free Republic

The California Department of Public Health is urging people to avoid mushroom foraging altogether this year because death cap mushrooms are easily confused with safe, edible varieties. Since Nov. 18 there have been more than three dozen cases of death cap poisonings reported, including the four deaths and three liver transplants, according to the health department. Many who sought medical attention suffered from rapidly evolving acute liver injury and liver failure. Several patients required admission to an intensive care unit. They have ranged in age from 19 months to 67 years old. The death cap is one of the most...

A rise in the number of wild mushroom poisonings in the Bay Area may be linked to our wet winter, state officials said. The California Poison Control System says 14 cases were reported in five counties in December. Three of the victims required liver transplants. The youngest victim was just 18 months old. Poison control says it usually sees just a few cases of so-called "death cap" mushroom poisonings each year. Experts say the abundance of rain likely caused more of the wild mushrooms to sprout. Doctors say symptoms don't appear for many hours, and by then the toxicity is...

A bumper crop of deadly wild "death cap" mushrooms in northern California is likely to blame for the poisonings of 14 people in December, health officials say. The culprit: Amanita phalloides, believed to be the world's most dangerous mushroom. All 14 recovered, but three required liver transplants, and a toddler suffered permanent brain damage, the researchers reported. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone picking wild mushrooms have them evaluated by a specialist before eating them.(snip) The 14 people described in the report had eaten wild mushrooms they picked themselves or received from others.(snip) After eating...