4 people have died from eating death cap mushrooms as they spread in
California after rains
[February 07, 2026]
By JULIE WATSON
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Four people have died and three others have required
liver transplants after eating the aptly named death cap mushroom that
is proliferating in California following a rainy winter.
The California Department of Public Health is urging people to avoid
mushroom foraging altogether this year because death cap mushrooms are
easily confused with safe, edible varieties.
Since Nov. 18 there have been more than three dozen cases of death cap
poisonings reported, including the four deaths and three liver
transplants, according to the health department. Many who sought medical
attention suffered from rapidly evolving acute liver injury and liver
failure. Several patients required admission to an intensive care unit.
They have ranged in age from 19 months to 67 years old.
The death cap is one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world and is
part of a small group of mushrooms containing amatoxins, which are
highly potent compounds causing 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings
globally. They are in city parks and in forests, often under oak trees.
In a typical year there are between two and five death cap poisonings,
said Dr. Craig Smollin, medical director for the San Francisco Division
of the California Poison Control System.
“The main thing this year is just the magnitude, the number of people
ingesting this mushroom,” Smollin said. “Having almost 40 is very
unusual.”
Warm, fall temperatures coupled with early rains are leading to a kind
of “super bloom” of death caps in California this year, experts say.
Eating even a small amount can be fatal, and experts warn that a
mushroom’s color is not a reliable way of detecting its toxicity, and
whether the death cap variety is raw, dried or cooked does not make a
difference.
Laura Marcelino told the San Francisco Chronicle that her family in the
Northern California town of Salinas gathered mushrooms that looked like
the ones she and her husband used to forage in their native Oaxaca, a
state in Southern Mexico.
“We thought it was safe,” Marcelino, 36, said in Spanish.
Her husband was dizzy and tired the next day, but Marcelino felt fine,
and they ate the mushrooms again, heating them up in a soup with
tortillas. Their kids don't like mushrooms and so didn't have any. The
next day, both adults, seasonal farmworkers, became ill with vomiting
and stayed home from work.
Marcelino spent five days in the hospital, while her husband had to
undergo a liver transplant.
[to top of second column]
|
This photo provided by the California Department of Public Health
shows Death Cap mushrooms. (CDPH viua AP)
 People can have stomach cramping,
nausea, diarrhea or vomiting within 24 hours after ingesting a toxic
mushroom and the situation can quickly deteriorate after that,
experts say. Early symptoms may also go away within a day, but
serious to fatal liver damage can still develop within 2 to 3 days.
Death cap mushrooms have been collected in local and national parks
across Northern California and the Central Coast. Clusters have been
identified in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas as well.
The public health department said those poisoned have included many
Spanish, Mixteco, and Mandarin Chinese speakers and the state in
response has expanded their warnings in different languages.
Spanish was the primary language for more than 60% of people
poisoned, according to the health department.
The death cap resembles many fungi varieties from around the world
that are safe to eat, and it changes in appearance in different
stages, Smollin said, going from a brownish-white cap to a greenish
cap.
“Unless you're an expert who studies mushrooms it can be very
difficult to know,” Smollin said.
Children have been among those poisoned this year. Officials advise
keeping an eye on children and pets outside where mushrooms grow,
and buying mushrooms from trusted grocery stores and sellers.
Treatment is more difficult once symptoms start so doctors advise
people to seek medical care once someone becomes aware that they
have eaten a poisonous mushroom or suspect they have.
U.S. Poison Centers said in an email to The Associated Press it has
seen an increase in exposures of all varieties of mushrooms — not
just the death cap — from September through January by 40% from the
same period the previous year. Exposures do not always result in
illness or poisoning.
U.S. Poison Control Centers can be reached in case of an emergency
poisoning or for questions about mushrooms at 1-800-222-1222 or
PoisonHelp.org.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
