Death cap mushrooms foraged in Northern California have severely poisoned 14 people in the last few months, three so seriously that they needed liver transplants.
The mushrooms, often mistaken for a benign variety, have flourished this year in heavy rains.
Mushroom experts first noticed a particularly large bloom of death caps in November.
The Amanita phalloides is one of the deadliest mushrooms on Earth and is responsible for 90 percent of mushroom poisonings around the world.
The mushrooms are most abundant during rainy fall and winter months, but they can survive throughout the year in coastal fog in California.
The CDC report urges extreme caution when hunting for wild mushrooms, adding that “inexperienced foragers should be strongly discouraged from eating any wild mushrooms.”.
The mushrooms are a serious threat in remote areas around the globe where medical help is too far for quick treatment. »
