Pennsylvania Family Hospitalized After Eating Toxic Mushrooms

Eleven people were hospitalized in Pennsylvania on Friday after accidentally eating toxic wild mushrooms, authorities said.

Officials responded to the scene in Peach Bottom Township, Pennsylvania, about 85 miles southwest of Philadelphia, around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 11, Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company Station 57 said in a statement.

First responders located a man, woman and nine children, authorities told NBC affiliate WGAL. The 11 patients were members of an Amish family, WGAL reported.

The family told first responders they had picked and eaten wild mushrooms, according to WGAL, and one of the family members had to walk about a half of a mile to a phone booth to call 911.

All 11 patients were transported to the hospital and were released after being treated, according to WGAL.

The incident was designated a “mass casualty incident” because of the amount of people that were ill, the volunteer fire company station said in the statement.

According to a 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, experts recommend exercising caution when looking for or purchasing wild mushrooms.

“If wild mushrooms are to be consumed, specimens should first be examined, identified, and deemed edible by an experienced mycologist,” the report said.

Dr. Robert Bassett, associate medical director of the Poison Control Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, previously told TODAY.com that mushroom poisoning is serious and can be deadly.

“It’s ridiculously easy to mistake a poisonous mushroom for an edible one,” Bassett said.

America’s Poison Centers listed three reminders to those foraging for mushrooms:

• “Poisonous mushrooms often resemble mushrooms that are safe to eat.”
• “Cooking mushrooms will not remove or inactivate toxins.”
• “Do not ingest any wild mushrooms unless you are 100% sure that they are safe to eat.”

“Symptoms of mushroom poisoning can happen within 30 minutes of eating them, and in dangerous cases, symptoms can be delayed six hours or longer,” according to America’s Poison Centers.

Stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are symptoms of mushroom poisoning to watch out for, according to America’s Poison Centers.

Mushroom poisonings appear to be on the rise: Cases of mushroom exposure reported to America’s Poison Centers nearly doubled from 2019 to 2022, the organization told TODAY.com in 2022.

There was an 11% increase in calls reported to America’s Poison Centers from January to October 2023, compared to all of 2022, CNN reported.

If you think you or someone you know may have eaten a poisonous mushroom, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 or visit PoisonHelp.org.