Overview
- State data tallied 35 hospitalizations, three deaths and three liver transplants as of Jan. 6, prompting an updated notice earlier this month.
- Cases span Northern California and the Central Coast from Sonoma to San Luis Obispo since mid-November, with most reported in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Area.
- Patients range from 19 months to 67 years old, and some reported collecting mushrooms on county, city and national park lands.
- Death cap toxins are not neutralized by cooking, boiling, freezing or drying, and early gastrointestinal symptoms can be followed days later by severe liver failure.
- Officials urge purchasing mushrooms only from trusted retailers, keeping children and pets away from wild fungi, contacting the CPCS hotline at 1-800-222-1222 after suspected ingestion, and seeking education such as Big Sur’s Fungus Festival walks.