Entire family, including 9 children, hospitalized after eating toxic mushrooms

Eleven people were hospitalized Friday in Pennsylvania after accidentally eating toxic wild mushrooms, authorities said.

Authorities responded to the scene in Peach Bottom Township, Pa., about 85 miles southwest of Philadelphia, around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 11, Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company Station 57 said in a press release.

First responders located a man, a woman and nine children, authorities told NBC affiliate WGAL. All 11 patients were members of an Amish family, WGAL reported.

The family told first responders they had picked and eaten wild mushrooms, according to WGAL, and one of the family members had to walk about a half-mile to a payphone to call 911.

All 11 patients were taken to the hospital and released after being treated, according to WGAL.

The incident was classified as a “mass casualty incident” due to the number of people sickened, the volunteer fire station said in the release.

According to a 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, experts recommend using caution when searching for or purchasing wild mushrooms.

“If wild mushrooms are to be consumed, the specimens must first be examined, identified and deemed edible by an experienced mycologist,” the report states.

Dr. Robert Bassett, associate medical director of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Poison Control Center, previously told TODAY.com that mushroom poisoning is serious and can be fatal.

“It’s ridiculously easy to confuse a poisonous mushroom with an edible mushroom,” Bassett said.

U.S. Poison Control Centers have listed three reminders for those looking for mushrooms:

• “Poisonous mushrooms often resemble edible mushrooms.”

• “Cooking mushrooms will not remove or inactivate toxins.”

• “Do not ingest wild mushrooms unless you are 100% sure they are safe to eat.”

“Symptoms of mushroom poisoning may occur within 30 minutes of consumption, and in dangerous cases, symptoms may be delayed for six hours or more,” according to the U.S. Poison Control Centers.

According to the U.S. Poison Control Centers, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are symptoms of mushroom poisoning to watch for.

Mushroom poisonings appear to be on the rise: Cases of mushroom exposure reported to U.S. poison centers nearly doubled between 2019 and 2022, the organization told TODAY.com in 2022.

There was an 11% increase in reported calls to U.S. poison centers from January to October 2023, compared to all of 2022, CNN reported.

If you think you or someone you know has eaten a poisonous mushroom, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 or visit PoisonHelp.org.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com