California health officials are warning the public to avoid foraging for wild mushrooms entirely this year after a dramatic surge in potentially fatal Death Cap poisonings.
Nearly 40 people have been hospitalised so far - way above the usual annual figure of fewer than five cases - according to state health authorities.
The deadly mushrooms have spread rapidly following a wet winter and are especially dangerous because they closely resemble edible varieties.
Craig Smollin, medical director at the California Poison Control System, said the scale of the outbreak was unprecedented.
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“The main thing this year is just the magnitude, the number of people ingesting this mushroom,” he said. “Having almost 40 is very unusual.”
Patients range in age from just 19 months to 67 years old, with many suffering acute liver damage and organ failure. Several have required intensive care treatment.
Death Caps have been reported across Northern California and the Central Coast, with clusters in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas.
Experts believe a combination of warm autumn temperatures and early rainfall triggered what they describe as a “super bloom” of the toxic fungi.
Death Caps have been reported across Northern California and the Central Coast
|GETTY
Although Death Caps usually appear between November and March, specialists say they have rarely been seen in such large numbers.
The mushrooms are notoriously difficult to identify, changing colour as they mature and closely mimicking edible species.
“Unless you’re an expert who studies mushrooms it can be very difficult to know,” Mr Smollin warned.
Initial symptoms include severe vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps, often followed by a brief period of apparent recovery before catastrophic liver and kidney failure sets in.
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The mushrooms are notoriously difficult to identify, changing colour as they mature
|GETTY
One victim, seasonal farmworker Laura Marcelino, said her family mistook Death Caps for mushrooms they had safely eaten in Mexico.
“We thought it was safe,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Her husband ultimately required a liver transplant.
US Poison Centres have also reported a 40 per cent rise in mushroom exposure cases of all kinds compared with last year.
US Poison Centres have also reported a 40 per cent rise in mushroom exposure cases
|GETTY
In Britain, there are roughly 250 species of known toxic fungi.
However, out of these, only five are considered to be life-threatening.
These include the Death Cap, Destroying Angel, Fool’s Webcap, Deadly Webcap, and Funeral Bell.
Between 200 to 300 people every year report to be poisoned in Britain every year, with the majority of incidents occurring during the foraging season between September and November.
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