Four people hospitalised after eating toxic mushrooms

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Four people have had to seek medical treatment after having eaten white Amanitas (Amanita virosa), highly toxic mushrooms also known as "destroying angels".
      Two of the patients have been brought to the intensive care unit of the Surgical Hospital in Helsinki, and it is likely that yet another patient with mushroom poisoning will end up in the same hospital. Only one of the four victims can be treated in a central hospital of his or her own hospital area.
      The four persons with mushroom poisoning come from various parts of Southern Finland.
     
The poisoning victims who have been brought to Helsinki are in serious condition, and their lives are in danger.
      Chief physician Anna-Maria Koivusalo of the intensive care unit of Helsinki’s Surgical Hospital reports that four patients with mushroom poisoning during one weekend is an exceptionally large number.
      The Surgical Hospital has annually treated one to five patients suffering from severe mushroom poisoning. Milder cases are treated locally in a central hospital.
      Previously the number of mushroom poisonings was higher than average in 2005.
     
The patients brought to the Surgical Hospital are being treated with the so-called molecular adsorbents recirculating system (MARS), a form of artificial liver support that has the potential to remove toxins from the organs.
      If the MARS therapy is not sufficient, the patients should have liver transplant surgery as soon as possible.
      Following Amanita poisoning, the patient gets severe symptoms within less than 12 hours. Such symptoms include vomiting and dehydration. The patient also feels very sick. Mushroom poisoning leads to liver necrosis within approximately ten days.
     
The white Amanita is often mistaken for blushing wood mushrooms (Agaricus silvaticus). However, while white Amanitas are very common, blushing wood mushrooms are a very rare species, which can hardly ever be found in the Finnish woods. Other species that bear a passing resemblance to this killer are the field (or meadow) mushroom (Agaricus campestris) and horse mushroom (Agaricus arvensis).
      In general, physicians and mushroom experts advise all uncertain mushroom-pickers to leave all white mushrooms in the forest.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Mushroom expert hints that correct timing is more important than knowing the right location (25.8.2009)
  Hundreds of Estonians pick mushrooms and berries for Finnish market (12.8.2008)
  Finnish wild mushrooms still exhibit elevated levels of caesium from Chernobyl nuclear accident (11.8.2008)

Links:
  Amanita (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat