Health officials on Vancouver Island have issued a warning after a poisonous mushroom that claimed the life of a toddler last year has been spotted growing in a Victoria neighbourhood.
Last October a three-year-old Victoria boy died after ingesting an Amanita phalloides mushroom, commonly known as the “Death Cap” mushroom.
The mushroom is responsible for an estimated 90 per cent of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide.
Island Health confirms the fungus flowered in the Uplands area this month, much earlier than usual.
Health officials are now trying to get the word out to parents and pet owners so they can avoid the mushroom, which looks similar to a puffball mushroom when first pushing through the ground.
Island Health offers these tips to ensure safe mushroom foraging include:
– If you’re not sure, don’t eat it
– Only pick and eat mushrooms that are easily identifiable
– Dig up the entire mushroom to make sure
– Eat only small amounts
– Call the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre, or 911 in an emergency, if you think you have ingested a poisonous mushroom, and keep a sample of the mushroom for analysis
– With files from Sean Boynton and The Canadian Press
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