Two Afghan boys killed in Poland by poisonous mushrooms
September 3, 2021
The two brothers had eaten a soup filled with mushrooms the family had gathered outside a quarantine camp. Their teenage sister was also in the hospital but has recovered.
Deathcap mushrooms look similar to the edible parasol mushroomImage: Picture alliance/dpa/K. D. Gabbert
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The two young brothers died after eating a soup made with poisonous deathcap mushrooms, with one of them dying late on Thursday and the second on Friday. Their family had gathered the mushrooms in a forest outside their quarantine center in the town of Podkowa Lesna, Poland, not knowing they were toxic.
A family of six, two adults and four children, had arrived in Poland on August 23 with their family after fleeing the violence in Afghanistan. The boys were aged 5 and 6. The older brother had received a liver transplant earlier in the week, but his condition did not improve.
Their 17-year-old sister was released from the same hospital in Warsaw. The doctors said the mushrooms are less toxic to adults with a greater body mass to process it.
Prosecutors probe criminal negligence
Authorities are currently investigating whether criminal negligence charges should be brought against staff at the quarantine center, where refugees must undergo a mandatory waiting period to be sure they aren't suffering from COVID-19.
The prosecutors' office in Warsaw said they were looking into the matter, but Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said earlier this week that what happened was a "tragedy, but did not result from any negligence at the center."
Authorities in Podkowa Lesna have denied suggestions that rations at the camp were insufficient, saying residents received three balanced meals a day.
Beware of these toadstools!
Rain has hit Germany and the mushrooms sprout. But there's an element of danger to that. There have been cases of people being poisoned - among them immigrants - by mushrooms they thought were edible.
Image: picture-alliance/OKAPIA KG/B. Svensson
Death Cap
Amanita phalloides, known as the death cap, is one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the Federal Republic of Germany. In late July 2017 five Eastern-European immigrants were hospitalized in Hannover, after mistaking them for tasty champignons. And in 2015 a 16-year-old Syrian died after mistaking this deadly fungus for another mushroom commonly eaten in his homeland.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Wüstneck
European white egg
The Death Cap is one of many mushrooms in the genus Amanita, and is often mistook for the Amanita ovoidea, or the the European white egg. This mushroom is edible and common in the Mediterranian countries, but it too resembles the Amanita proxima, which is deadly poisonous. Moral of the story? Be careful with your Amanitas!
The Macrolepiota, of the family Agaricaceae, is cherised in culinary circles. For the layman, it's almost impossible to tell a difference between it and the Death Cap. The Macrolepiota is most prevalent in willows and nutrient-rich soil.
Image: picture-alliance/Arco Images
Delicacy or poisonous toad?
Kuehneromyces (pictured above) are tasty and healthy, while Galerina marginata are deadly poisonous. Again, the two are almost impossible to tell apart. It is amatoxins that make the Galerina marginata so poisonous, the same thing that makes the Death Cap so deadly.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/McPHOTOs
Mario Bros mushrooms
When it comes to iconic fungus, the Amanita muscaria is the one. Every German boy and girl knows not to eat this mushroom, because it's poisonous! But it wasn't always that way. The toxicity of this mushroom varies regionally around Europe.
Image: Fotolia/Ideen
Ambiguous fungus
Some of the 100 species of clitocybe mushrooms are edible, other poisonous. The latter contain muscarine, which is a neurotoxin. There are cases in which consumption of clitocybes has led to Erythromelalgia, which is a nervous disorder that results in swelling and pain in the limbs.
Image: picture-alliance/Arco Images
Life-threatening belly aches
The toxic effect of Entoloma, which comprise over 1000 species of mushroom, targets the stomach. If you eat one of these, you may very well be spending the night in the bathroom. Vomitting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps are the usual symptoms. In severe cases, you'll need an infusion to survive.
