Outbreak of Mushroom Poisoning in Iran: April–May, 2018

• Main Author: Kambiz Soltaninejad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Health Organization 2018-07-01
• Series: The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Subjects: Mushroom poisoning; Disease outbreaks; Epidemics; Iran
• Online Access: http://www.theijoem.com/ijoem/index.php/ijoem/article/view/1380

From April 28 to May 28, 2018, more than 1200 patients with impression of mushroom poisoning were referred to hospital emergency departments in 13 west and northwestern provinces, Iran; 112 (8.9%) patients were hospitalized and 19 were expired (ie, a fatality rate of 1.5%). The outbreak began in Kermanshah province with increasing number of patients presenting with severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea soon after consumption of wild mushrooms. Lepiota brunneioncarnata, Hypholoma fascicalare, and Coprinopsis atramentaria have been involved in this outbreak. To prevent similar outbreaks, raising public awareness about risky behaviors of collecting and consuming wild self-picked mushrooms is of paramount importance. Herein, we present our experience with this outbreak.