One dies, five ill after eating wild mushrooms

Luong Thuy Hoa, deputy director of Mai Chau District Hospital in Hoa Binh Province, said that 15 hours after eating wild mushrooms, four people were taken to the hospital on Feb. 17 as they suffered abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea.

Three hours later, two others were admitted to the hospital with the same symptoms. All six of them shared the same meal, which included mushrooms, chicken, bamboo shoots, pork innards, and eels.

On Monday, two of them developed more serious symptoms and were transferred to Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi.

“Now one of them, a 37-year-old male, has died. The other person, a 40-year-old male, is in critical condition,” said doctor Hoa.

The other four have been transferred to the Hoa Binh Provincial General Hospital.

Dr. Hoang Cong Tinh at the hospital said Tuesday that the four still have poisoning symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea.

“Mushroom poisoning is very complicated and there is no guarantee at the moment,” said Tinh.

Doctors said it is spring in the north and that mushrooms are now in season.

As not many people can distinguish poisonous mushrooms from edible ones, picking mushrooms in the forest to cook poses a lot of threats, the doctors said.