Eleven people from Peach Bottom Township in Pennsylvania Dutch Country were hospitalized after consuming toxic wild mushrooms last week. The group included a man, a woman, and nine children who were treated at a hospital and later released. The incident occurred after family members foraged for wild mushrooms and ate them on Friday night. Due to the Amish culture’s restriction on using modern devices like cellphones, a family member had to walk half a mile to find a public phone to call for help.
Emergency medical personnel arrived after 9:30 p.m. and all 11 patients were transported to the hospital. The situation was considered a “mass casualty incident” due to the number of individuals affected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against consuming mushrooms foraged outdoors, as most mushroom poisonings in the U.S. involve the ingestion of toxic Amanita phalloides mushrooms, also known as “death caps.” Symptoms of consuming these mushrooms can include abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and liver damage, and in severe cases, death. It is advised that only trained experts known as mycologists should forage for mushrooms in the wild to avoid such incidents.
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