Mushroom poisonings rising in B.C.; 2019 could break records

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s looking like 2019 could be a record-breaking year for mushroom poisonings in B.C.

More than 200 calls about exposure to poisonous mushrooms have been made to poison control in this province as of the end of September, most involving small children. No poisonings were fatal, however two dogs around Victoria have died.

With October generally seeing a high number of poisonings – and the death cap mushroom appearing right now in the Vancouver area – that number is expected to keep climbing.

.@CDCofBC says to keep an eye out for the potentially deadly death cap mushrooms growing on urban streets, including in Vancouver.

Foragers are at the greatest risk of getting really, really sick, so be extra cautious and only eat what you can absolutely identify. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/ZlWIiEgStz

— Lauren Boothby (@laurby) October 28, 2019

Ray Li with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control says parents and pet owners need to keep an eye out for the potentially deadly death cap mushrooms.

“We just need people to be aware of that mushroom and not to forage or eat unidentified mushrooms, and for parents and pet owners to supervise their children and pets while they’re out walking,” he says.

“Children are finding mushrooms all over – could be in their backyard, at school, out in parks and public areas. One of the scary things, though, is that the death cap mushroom, which is the most deadly mushroom we have in the province, is growing on urban streets in Victoria, on South Vancouver Island, here in Greater Vancouver.”

The vast majority of children don’t develop serious poisoning symptoms, mostly because they don’t eat a large amount: it’s the people who forage for mushrooms that tend to get the sickest, he says.

“They are calling us because they have become ill, or they have eaten the mushooms and now they are thinking maybe I didn’t know what that was for sure. Those folks are, perhaps, at greater risk for developing illness simply because they are eating more mushroom material,” he says. “If they pick the wrong type of mushroom, they’re eating more of it.”

He says people who are foraging should stick to collecting mushrooms that are easy to identify to avoid eating something harmful by mistake.

In 2016, a child died after eating a death cap mushroom in Victoria.