More wild mushroom victims

31 August: Despite awareness messages on the dangers of eating wild mushrooms, at least three people have died and more than fifteen were hospitalised in referral and district hospitals around the country between May and August this year.

“We’ve been telling people and sending awareness messages to the villages through gewog centres not to pick mushrooms, which they cannot identify,” said the national mushroom centre’s program director, Dawa Penjor.

Three men in the thirties were treated in Thimphu referral hospital this month, after they consumed a poisonous mushroom collected from an area near Dechencholing. They told health officials that they mistook the mushroom to be the edible and local delicacy, Sisi Shamu. Six men in Pemagatshel were also treated in the district hospital after they had consumed a wild mushroom on August 21.

Mushroom collectors often overestimate their ability to distinguish deadly mushrooms from the edible ones, sometimes with tragic results, said officials of the mushroom centre. “Some poisonous mushrooms can be identical to non-poisonous ones,” said an official. “Mushrooms should not be trifled with.”

However, as the mushroom season began this year, a couple in Samtse died of mushroom poisoning in May. A 67-year-old woman also died in Mongar hospital after consuming poisonous mushrooms in June. Two people, who had consumed the mushroom with the woman, had also been hospitalised.

Seasonal rain has become more frequent, which will promote the growth of wild mushrooms, said officials. There are about 250-300 species of mushrooms in Bhutan, of which around 30 or more could be poisonous.

“We want people to be careful with the kind of mushrooms they eat or pick from the forest,” said Dawa Penjor. “We’re reminding people of the dangers of wild mushroom through awareness calendars, posters and brochures, which are sent to all BHUs or gewog centres.” The centre has also been training farmers to identify both edible and poisonous mushrooms, as they are usually sold to ignorant customers.

According to Kuensel records, mushroom poisoning killed at least 18 people in the past five years. Several others were saved by timely medical treatment. The worst case was reported in 1995, when a family of six died of mushroom poisoning in Pemagatshel.

Nausea and stomach upset are the first symptoms of mushroom poisoning. In most cases, immediate medical attention can save lives, but there are some mushroom species that first destroy vital organs, like kidney and lungs, and then show symptoms only after three to four days, say health officials at the Thimphu referral hospital. If you cannot make it to a medical facility, vomiting should be induced, while increasing the intake of fluids, said a medical specialist in Thimphu.

source: kuensel