Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – In about ten days, between October 28th and Monday, November 9th, five mushroom poisoning incidents were reported in the province of Frosinone, involving around ten people. "The incidents involved fungal species responsible for gastrointestinal symptoms, some of which were severe," particularly the case on Sunday, November 8th, caused by the consumption of Entoloma sinuatum and Armillaria mellea, which had not been properly treated.
"In fact, honey mushrooms are the only widely consumed species that must be pre-boiled with the cooking water removed before consumption, in order to prevent gastrointestinal poisoning," the Frosinone Local Health Authority (ASL) reads in a statement.
"Today's episode is particularly serious, following which four people consumed Amanita phalloides, one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world, mistaking it for the common honey agaric (Armillaria mellea), also known as 'family agaric'," the ASL continues. "The amatoxins contained in this species can cause very serious liver damage, up to and including potentially fatal liver failure.
The patients were transferred to the Gemelli Polyclinic and the Umberto I Polyclinic in Rome for the necessary treatment."
Dr. Immacolata Verdicchio, head of the Sian Unit at the Frosinone Local Health Authority, emphasizes the importance of the work carried out by the company's mycological surveillance network: "Thanks to the expertise of the Frosinone Local Health Authority's mycologists, it was possible to obtain mycological diagnoses very quickly, allowing clinicians to adopt the most appropriate supportive therapies and, in the most serious cases, promptly arrange for patients to be transferred to specialized hospital facilities."
The Frosinone Local Health Authority reminds you that the Mycological Inspectorate offers a free service for inspecting collected mushrooms: telephone 0776/8294231 – email address: ispettoratomicologico@aslfrosinone.it.
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