Refugees ill from mushrooms

A warning went out in various refugee centers not to pick and eat mushrooms. This week, at least seven refugees were hospitalized after eating mushrooms.Two residents of a Dronten refugee center were taken to the hospital with symptoms of poisoning. A woman who was visiting the couple also had to be admitted.

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Earlier this week in Groningen, a family with two children reported to the hospital after eating mushrooms. One of the children is now awaiting a liver transplant. A spokesperson for the Central Agency of the Care for Refugees (COA) could not say anything about the health of the other applicants.

The refugees may have eaten the green Amanita phalloides, one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the Netherlands. Consumption can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In a later stage also the liver and the kidneys are affected.

Research should determine whether it is indeed the Amanita phalloides. The fungus grows mainly along roadsides and in deciduous forests, and looks like an eatable mushroom when it's young.