B.C. on a record pace for mushroom poisonings
Credit to Author: Scott Brown| Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2019 17:38:51 +0000
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control says 2019 is tracking to be a record year for mushroom poisonings in the province.
The BCCDC has received 201 mushroom poisoning calls as of Sept. 30. Comparatively, there were 202 calls for all of 2018, which was an increase from the 161 calls received in 2017.
“Approximately two thirds of mushroom related poisoning calls in 2019 involved children under the age of five,” said Raymond Li, a pharmacist with Poison Control. “It is important to be aware of dangers from consuming unidentified mushrooms, especially death cap mushrooms. We would like to remind mushroom hunters, parents and pet owners to be vigilant as they enjoy city, parks, forests and even their own backyard.”
Not all the fungus among us should be consumed.
Amanita phalloides, also known as the death cap and the most poisonous mushroom in the world, has been increasingly popping up in parts of B.C. including Victoria and south Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley region.
Death caps are native to Europe, and are thought to have been introduced to B.C. on the roots of imported hardwood trees such as the hornbeam, a popular variety that was planted widely in Vancouver in the 1960s and 1970s.
There have been no reported human deaths from B.C. death cap mushrooms since 2016 when a Victoria toddler died after he ate a death cap picked from the ground in a residential neighbourhood, however two dogs — both in Victoria — have died due to possible death cap poisoning this year.
To stay safe while mushroom picking, the BCCDC advises the public to only pick and eat mushrooms that are well-known to be edible and easy to distinguish from poisonous varieties, only hunt for mushrooms in safe terrain and exercise extreme caution if in remote areas and save one of each kind of mushroom so their identities can be confirmed should symptoms develop.
If you suspect you’ve consumed a poisonous mushroom, you should call the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre hotline 1-800-567-8911 and seek medical attention immediately.