Three die and dozens poisoned after wild mushroom consumption in California

Three people in California have died and more than two dozen others have been poisoned after consuming wild mushrooms, officials said, prompting state health authorities to discourage foraging. A Sonoma County resident died last weekend after eating wild mushrooms, the county’s Department of Health Services said.

Sonoma County reported 35 cases of wild mushroom poisoning between Nov. 18 and Jan. 4, resulting in three deaths and three liver transplants, the county health department said. Health officials have linked the illnesses to death cap mushrooms, which contain amatoxin and can cause liver and kidney failure.

Early rains and a mild fall have made mushrooms abundant in Northern California, the county’s interim health officer, Dr. Michael Stacey, said. The California Department of Public Health said significant poisonings have been reported in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas. Symptoms within 24 hours of ingestion can include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and dehydration, the Sonoma County health department said, and serious or fatal liver damage can develop within a few days even if early symptoms subside.

"Eating wild mushrooms gathered without expert identification can be unsafe," Dr. Stacey said.

Key Topics

Health, Death Cap Mushroom, Sonoma County, California Health Dept, Amatoxin, Northern California