Wild mushroom poisoning is at the highest level in 10 years from a “persistent and widespread bloom” of Death Caps and Western Destroying Angels across Northern California and the Central Coast, health officials say.
The California Department of Public Health strongly urges the public not to pick or consume wild mushrooms, saying the risk of potentially deadly amatoxin poisoning is “extremely high.”
As of Friday, 50 cases of mushroom-related poisonings have been reported since November, including four deaths, the CDPH said. The worst previous outbreak, in 2016, involved 14 total cases. In a typical year, fewer than five cases of mushroom poisoning are reported.
Death Caps and Western Destroying Angels closely resemble several edible mushroom species in both appearance and taste. The mushrooms are still poisonous even after cooking, boiling, freezing or drying.
“This outbreak, now in its seventh month, continues to cause severe liver damage in both children and adults and has led to four deaths and four liver transplants among the 50 identified cases,” state health officials said Friday.
The poisonous mushrooms were collected from various public lands, including county, city, and national parks, the Health Department said.
“While Western Destroying Angels typically bloom into spring, Death Caps would normally be declining by this time of year,” officials said in a press release.
“Instead, these mushrooms continue to appear abundantly in multiple regions. Recent rains are suspected to be a contributing factor of this unusual resurgence of Death Cap mushrooms beyond their typical growing season.”
Initial symptoms, such as watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and dehydration can occur within 6 to 24 hours following ingestion of these toxic mushrooms and usually go away within a day.
However, this brief improvement can be deceptive, as patients may still develop serious to fatal liver damage within 48 to 96 hours after eating the mushrooms, according to the Health Department.