The toxic mushrooms, Amanita phalloides, also known as death cap mushrooms, bear a strong resemblance to edible varieties found in the refugees’ homelands.
Hanover Medical School, an academic hospital in north-central Germany has admitted about 35 refugees, all from Syria, according to the Associated Press, who have been sickened, some severely, after ingesting the toxic mushrooms. Additional mushroom poisoning cases have been seen in Müntser, two hours west.
Apparently, according to authorities, some refugees, desperate for something to eat, and foraging for food, may have thought the death caps were the same as the edible mushrooms found in their homeland.
Hanover Hospital made up and distributed posters in Kurdish, Arabic and other languages, warning the migrants against eating the mushrooms because they can cause fatal liver and kidney damage. “Do not collect mushrooms, if you are unfamiliar with edible growing mushrooms here. A mushroom you regard from your homeland as a delicious edible mushroom could be deadly here although they look similar,” warns the poster.
The death cap mushroom resembles a number of varieties of edible mushrooms and are especially dangerous to immigrants unfamiliar with the local terrain. Amanita phalloides is found across much of Europe, Canada and the United States, particularly in California.
At this time, the mushroom is in the middle of its three-month growing season, and the young mushrooms are more likely to resemble edible varieties. Hanover Hospital says, “Since this fungus has no repellent taste and the first symptoms occur only after several hours, the risk of getting sick from its consumption is extremely high.”
This same thing happened in Canada recently, when an immigrant woman from Asia became ill and ended up going through a liver transplant, according to a story in Digital Journal.
