Deadly outbreak of wild mushroom poisonings impacts 35, kills 3

SLO COUNTY, Calif.—People are becoming ill after consuming mushrooms they gathered in the forest.
 
Three people have died, and 3 others have needed liver transplants.
 
Overall, 35 cases have been identified by the California Poison Control System between November 18th and January 4th.
 
The cases are mainly in the Bay area and Monterey County.
 
At least one hospitalization occurred in San Luis Obispo County.
 
The poisonings are linked to the “death cap” mushroom, which is easily mistaken for safe mushrooms.
 
It can take up to 24 hours for the disease to manifest.
 
Initial symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea. 
 
The toxin can then cause liver failure.
  
“ So this AMA toxin gets into the liver and then it just starts to really cause so much damage that the liver starts to shut down. So we call that fulminant hepatic failure. And you can go from just walking, talking, feeling normal to, being in a coma with liver failure in just a course of like 72 hours. And that's where people need emergency liver transplantation,” said California Poison Control Medical Director Dr. Rais Varah.
 
Cases range in age from 19 months to 67 years.
 
Health officials say this is the largest poisonous mushroom cluster in decades.