Death cap mushroom poisonings spike in California : NPR

California officials are warning people not to eat wild mushrooms just yet after nearly two dozen people became sick, including one fatally, from a highly poisonous mushroom known as death's cap.

This was reported by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). in its advisory that from mid-November to last Friday there were 21 confirmed cases of toxic mushroom poisoning, which he said were “likely” related to the consumption of death caps.

The mushroom toxins killed one adult and caused severe liver damage in children and other adults. Several patients required intensive care, and “at least one person potentially required a liver transplant,” health officials added.

Officials said there were “significant clusters” of cases across the country. Monterey and the San Francisco Bay Area, but warn of the risk across the state.

“Because death caps can easily be mistaken for edible, harmless mushrooms, we advise the public not to pick wild mushrooms at all during this high-risk season,” said CDPH Director Dr. Erica Pan.

Death's cap mushrooms are known to grow in many parts of California, especially favored by fall and winter rains.

An unusually rainy season created especially favorable conditions for growing mushrooms, as was the case V December 2016when government officials 14 cases registered death cap poisoning. All patients survived, but three required liver transplants and one child had “permanent neurological impairment.”

Death caps may be thriving in California, but they are not limited to the state's borders. This is a very poisonous species responsible for 90% mushroom-related deaths worldwide.

Cases of death caps and poisoning have been reported. Midwest, Northeast and the Mountain West in recent years. Most recently, in October, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported that 'The world's deadliest mushrooms' have been discovered in Boise.

Where do death caps grow?

Mushrooms Death cap, or Amanita phalloidesoriginated in Eurasia but are now found in many other places, including North America and Australia, where they have been implicated high-profile mass murder case earlier this year. (UK charity Nature Conservancy Woodland Trust says they have been an “invisible murder weapon for millennia” and are blamed for the deaths Roman Emperor Claudius in 54 AD and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1740.)

They are believed to have arrived in Central California in the 1930s by accident, through the roots of imported European oak trees, and spread throughout the state and beyond in subsequent decades.

“It's intriguing because it comes from one place and spreads to another,” says Anne Pringle, a mycologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. told NPR in September, pointing to Northern California as a “hot spot” for the deadly collapse.

Death's cap mushrooms typically grow near oak, pine and other hardwoods, often in widely spaced groups. They tend to be more common in urban and suburban wooded areas rather than forests.

“They are naturally found in places where people are,” Britt Banyard, mycologist and editor-in-chief of the magazine. MUSHROOMS Magazinesaid member station KQED.

This makes them a serious threat to people and pets, especially considering that in appearance they do not differ much from other types of harmless mushrooms.

What makes them so poisonous?

Death cap mushrooms are similar looks and tastes to other edible varieties such as puffballs, especially at the young “button” stage.

They are typically medium to large in size—growing up to 6 inches across and 6 inches tall—with a greenish-gray cap that is initially dome-shaped but flattens over time. They have white gills, a white ring around the stem, and a large white pouch at the base of the stem.

Banyard says the deathcap mushroom actually smells and tastes “quite pleasant,” leaving “no hint that it is poisonous in any way.”

But they got their name for a reason.

Eating half a cap or less can be enough to kill a person. mortality rate after oral administration reaches 50%.

Although deadly mushroom poisonings are difficult to track, some scientists estimate they cause about 10,000 illnesses and 100 deaths all over the world every year.

What happens after using them?

Death cap mushrooms produce a highly toxic peptide called α-amanitin, or AMA, which is resistant to heat, cold, desiccation, freezing and stomach acid.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that AMA poisoning is characterized by a delayed onset of symptoms that begin on average after six to 15 hours, but can potentially last up to 48 hours. They present with sudden stomach pain, persistent vomiting, watery diarrhea and intense thirst that may last only one day.

“If this early phase is survived, the patient may appear to recover for a short time, but this period is usually followed by rapid and severe loss of strength, prostration, and restlessness caused by pain,” says the FDA.

This explains that the disease causes “irreversible” damage to the liver, kidneys, heart and skeletal muscles, often ending in coma and death after four to eight days.

“If recovery occurs, it usually takes at least a month and is accompanied by an enlarged liver,” the FDA adds.

There are several effective treatments for death cap poisoning. Doctors tend to treat symptoms by administering activated charcoal, high doses of penicillin and a new drug called silibinin, as well as rehydration and, in some cases, liver transplantation.

But recent discoveries have made it possible hope for a potential antidote.

In 2023, Chinese and Australian researchers found that the FDA-approved medical dye ICG was effective in treating AMA poisoning in mice. But without human trials, it's not entirely clear how well the drug works in treating people with fatal poisoning.

That's why California health officials want people to only eat mushrooms from trusted commercial sources, and if they develop symptoms, go to the hospital immediately.