Poisonous Mushrooms Pop Up in Missouri

CLAYTON, Mo. — Potentially dangerous mushrooms have caused about 25 people in Missouri to get sick in September. The mushrooms are showing up in yards across the state.

One neighbor, Kelly Schall says she noticed the mushrooms but didn’t know they have such a negative effect on people.

“They randomly pop up every week,” Schall said. “I never really thought about them being poisonous.”

The Missouri Poison Center says any mushroom you find growing outside has the potential to be poisonous. Eating the wrong type of mushroom could cause vomiting, hallucinations or worse.

“There are cases where people have gone into liver failure from very toxic
mushrooms,” said Dr. Anthony Scalzo with the Missouri Poison Center.

Often times children are the victims of eating poisonous mushrooms because they’re being adventurous.

“There are the poisonous mushrooms and then some non poisonous mushrooms,” he said. “It’s very hard to distinguish between them sometimes. So in general we recommend that people don`t forage.”