Warning issued about deadly mushrooms ahead of Thanksgiving weekend

As fall bringswetter conditions thatfoster the growth of mushrooms, the B.C. Centre for Disease control is warning people to bewareof the poisonous death cap mushroom which can be fatal if ingested.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people aregetting outdoors sothe BCCDCis telling parents of young children and pet owners to be cautious thisThanksgiving long weekend.

The species Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the death cap mushroom, is a poisonous and grows in urban and forested areas.

If consumed, the mushroom can lead toliver and kidney damage from dangerous toxinsand, in some cases, death.Symptoms of death cap mushroom poisoning include low blood pressure, nausea, abdominal pain, dehydrationand vomiting whichcan beginwithin sixto 12 hours after eating.

Symptoms may clear and then disappear for several days,but liver and kidney damage can appear three to sixdays after ingesting the mushrooms.

So far, calls to the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centreindicatemushroom exposures in 2020 have been on par with previous years, but there was a spike in rainy June with 67 calls for mushroom exposures, double what was seen in previous years.

PharmacistRaymond Li with the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre said adults also need to pay attention to what children might be putting in their mouths.

"Typically around two-thirds of our mushroom calls involve children fiveand under, so parents and caregivers need to be mindful of what's on the ground where their kids are playing. But this year we have noticed an increase in mushroom calls involving adults."

In 2016, a three-year-old boy from Victoria died after eating a poisonous death capmushroom picked in the city's downtown.

The mushroom has been found fruiting in Vancouver, Victoria, the Fraser Valley, southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.