Eleven people were hospitalized in Peach Bottom Township in Pennsylvania Dutch Country after consuming wild and toxic mushrooms. The patients, including a man, a woman, and nine children, were treated at a hospital and later released. The incident occurred when family members foraged for mushrooms and consumed them on a Friday night. A family member had to walk half a mile to seek help as they did not have access to cellphones, following Amish traditions that disallow modern technology.
Emergency medical personnel arrived after 9:30 p.m. on Friday and transported all 11 patients. Due to the high number of ill individuals, the situation was classified as a “mass casualty incident.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against consuming wild mushrooms unless one is a trained mycologist, as many poisonings and deaths in the US are linked to toxic fungi like the death cap mushroom. Symptoms of poisoning include abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and liver damage. It is crucial to exercise caution when foraging for mushrooms in the wild to avoid such incidents.
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