Four Dead From Wild Mushrooms In Chiang Mai

[george]

Four dead from wild mushrooms in Chiang Mai

CHIANG MAI: -- A senior medical official has warned of collecting mushrooms, popping up in the rainy season after four people in the northern province of Chiang Mai died this week after eating poisonous mushrooms.

Chiang Mai public health deputy chief Surasing Wisarutrat said that four villagers in Chiang Dao district died of toxicity after consuming poisonous mushrooms and patients have been admitted at several hospitals in the province.

The medical doctor warned the public to avoid eating unknown varieties of mushrooms that they gathered in the forest, as a number of local residents mistook poisonous mushrooms for edible types.

On Friday, six persons in the northern province of Nan died after eating poisonous mushrooms, while medical staff are monitoring the condition of three other patients.

Forty-seven patients were admitted to Nan hospitals after eating mushrooms and having toxic reactions, with 17 people being severe cases.

Consuming mushrooms results in toxins entering the bloodstream, where they destroy the liver and kidneys.

--TNA 2007-05-27