Thai Public Health warns locals of poisonous mushrooms

BANGKOK, 17 September 2012 (NNT) – Deputy Public Health Minister of Thailand Surawit Khonsomboon has warned the public of wild poisonous mushrooms after 12 people have died and 400 others fallen ill from eating them this year.

Mr Surawit said this year more people have consumed wild mushrooms than in the past four years. The Bureau of Epidemiology has reported that from January to May this year, over 400 people fell ill from eating poisonous mushrooms. Most patients were from the North and Northeast. Out of those, 12 people or 3% died.

A one-month-old baby was the youngest victim to have suffered from the mushroom poison after the mother ate mushrooms and breast-fed her baby. Most people who died from consuming such mushrooms were the elderly.

Most of the lethal mushrooms belong to the genus Amanita, which grows naturally in the wild. The mushrooms contain amatoxins, which can cause liver and kidney failure. Victims will feel nauseated and vomit within 24 hours after consumption. Their liver and kidney will fail, and they will die eventually if not properly treated in time.