Three-year-old boy dies after eating poisonous mushroom during family outing
VICTORIA — A three-year-old boy who had been picking wild mushrooms with his family in Victoria has died after eating a poisonous mushroom, the local health authority said Wednesday.
Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health’s chief medical health officer, said the boy’s death would be the first recorded in the province from a B.C. death cap mushroom, if it is confirmed.
Mycological examination of the mushrooms collected at the same site suggests that the boy probably ate the Amanita phalloides, or death camp mushroom, an authority news release said.
Tests are ongoing to confirm the presence of specific toxins in his system.