Amanita phalloides Mushroom Poisoning–Northern California, January 1997

Abstract

The popular interest in gathering and eating uncultivated mushrooms has been associated with an increase in incidents of serious mushroom-related poisonings.¹ From December 28, 1996, through January 6, 1997, nine persons in northern California required hospitalization after eating Amanita phalloides (i.e., “death caps”) mushrooms; two of these persons died. Risks associated with eating these mushrooms result from a potent hepatotoxin. This report describes four cases of A. Phalloides poisoning in patients admitted to a regional referral hospital in northern California during January 1997 and underscores that wild mushrooms should not be eaten unless identified as nonpoisonous by a mushroom expert.