LORAIN COUNTY — Two Lorain County health departments are urging residents not to eat wild mushrooms since several Avon Lake residents have been hospitalized after consuming a dish made from wild mushrooms.
Lorain and Elyria city health departments are advising wild food enthusiasts to refrain from gathering and eating mushrooms, according to a press release from Lorain City Health Department. Many mushroom varieties that grow in the wild area are so poisonous that they can be fatal if eaten. A particular mushroom called Amanita or “death cap” a common variety that can cause severe liver damage or even death if eaten.
Poisons in some of the most dangerous varieties of wild mushrooms are not destroyed by cooking, freezing or boiling, officials said. The health departments advise all people to purchase mushrooms from the grocery store.
The Avon Lake residents had eaten chicken cacciatore made from Amanita mushrooms. The increase in persons suffering from wild mushroom poisoning may be due to the unusually wet spring and fall that has lead to an abundance of mushroom growth, officials said. Consuming as little as half of a poisonous wild mushroom can be fatal.
Symptoms of wild mushroom poisoning, which can begin hours after ingestion, include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, severe diarrhea, a change in heart rhythm and a low blood pressure. Treatment is often limited to supportive treatment such as IV fluids.
