(SONOMA COUNTY, Calif.) — Foragers are being warned of what could be the largest toxic mushroom outbreak in California history, which state health officials say has caused three deaths and sickened more than 30 people who ingested the poisonous fungi.
Recent heavy rains have caused death cap mushrooms to flourish in the wild, including one of the deadliest fungi, the Western destroying angel mushroom, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
“Early rains and a mild fall have led to profusion of the toxic death cap mushroom in Northern California,” Dr. Michael Stacey, the interim health officer for Sonoma County, said in a statement after the most recent poison mushroom-linked death occurred.
A Sonoma County resident died on Jan. 4 after unwittingly consuming death cap mushrooms, health officials said.
“Eating wild mushrooms gathered without expert identification can be unsafe,” Stacey said. “Some harmful varieties closely resemble edible mushrooms, even to experienced foragers.”
The problem of state residents consuming poisonous mushrooms has persisted despite the CDPH issuing its first warning on Dec. 5 after the California Poison Control System identified 21 people who had sought medical attention since mid-November after consuming death cap mushrooms, also known by the scientific name Amanita phalloides.
Stacey said in his statement that between Nov. 18 and Jan. 4, 35 mushroom poisoning cases, including the three deaths, were reported to state officials. Three of those poisoned individuals, including a child, were sickened to the point they required liver transplants, officials said.
Fewer than five mushroom poisoning cases are reported statewide in an average year, according to California health officials.
The recent poisoning incidents have been reported in the Northern California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma, according to the CDPH.
“This is probably the largest outbreak in California history; 35 total cases, including three fatalities and three liver transplants,” Rais Vohra, a medical director for the California Poison Control System, told ABC San Francisco television station KGO.
Vohra said the effects of mushroom poisoning aren’t evident until six to 24 hours after consumption.
Early symptoms of mushroom poisoning typically include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, according to the CDPH.
Laura Marcelino of Salinas told KGO that she and her husband, Carlos, recently became ill after cooking and eating wild mushrooms they gathered during a family hike in November. While she recovered, she said her husband needed a liver transplant, from which he’s now recovering.
State health officials are advising people to avoid foraging for wild mushrooms and to be cautious when buying them from street vendors and at farmers’ markets.
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