The Western Cape Department of Health says there has been a concerning spike in confirmed cases of “Death Cap” mushroom poisoning in the province. It is one of the most dangerous species and one of the world’s most poisonous mushrooms.
The department says they have seen five confirmed cases of poisoning in the past two weeks.
Director of the Tygerberg Poisons Information Centre, Carine Marks, says one bite of certain species of the wild mushrooms can cause fatal poisoning.
“We’ve recently seen a concerning increase in ‘Death Cap’ mushroom poisoning in the Western Cape. In fact, we had five confirmed cases in the Western Cape in just the past two weeks. With all the recent rain, these wild mushrooms are appearing everywhere in parks, gardens, vineyards, and forests. At the same time, mushroom foraging has become increasingly popular, especially among young people who are exploring nature, looking for edible mushrooms,” says Marks.
She has warned people against differentiating poisonous mushrooms from safe one by just looking at them.
“There is no reliable home test, and you simply cannot tell if a mushroom is safe by just looking at it. Even more concerning is that cooking, drying and freezing these mushrooms does not destroy the toxins,” she adds.
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