Three California residents were poisoned by deadly mushrooms that they bought from a food truck. The patients bought the vegetable from a produce van in Salinas, a farming community in central California. They look similar to common edible mushrooms found in grocery stores, including button and cremini mushrooms, but consuming just 30 grams of them is enough to kill. It wasn't until the following day the three individuals became severely ill, with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The death cap mushroom pictured left and right , responsible for 90 percent of mushroom-related deaths, resembles some edible varieties, and can lead to severe liver and kidney damage. Doctors are hopeful that two individuals who remain in treatment will recover and the third, who ate less of the mushrooms, has already recovered. Patients told doctors they had procured the mushrooms from a produce truck parked outside of a grocery store.
The toxins block a crucial enzyme cells need to make proteins, and without producing those proteins, cells die. There is typically a six to hour period during which no symptoms appear despite the toxin already working in the body. After that period, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea increase, leading to dehydration. When the body becomes dehydrated, blood flow to the kidneys and liver decreases, causing damage and potential failure.
The patients were transferred to a specialized unit at Stanford Medicine that focuses on liver health and transplantation. Edible varieties common in recipes resemble death caps. For this reason, police and scientists discourage people from foraging for mushrooms on their own. Still, a police report said there have been no further cases of illness due to mushroom poisoning in Salinas and concluded there is no threat to the general public. Death caps, responsible for about 90 percent of deaths by mushrooms, are native to Europe but found their way to North America in the s on the roots of imported trees, eventually becoming an invasive species.
Spotting these unassuming mushrooms can be difficult. They give off no smells or obvious giveaways. Scientists generally discourage people from setting off on their own to forage for mushrooms because they are so easily mistaken for edible varieties.
