Amish families are good at living off the land – but sometimes things go wrong.
In Pennsylvania, almost a dozen members of an Amish family were hospitalized after they accidentally ate toxic mushrooms foraged from their land.
At a glance:
- Eleven members of an Amish family in Pennsylvania were hospitalized after eating toxic wild mushrooms.
- The family, consisting of two adults and nine children, fell ill and required emergency medical assistance.
- All family members were treated at the hospital and have since been released.
A Pennsylvania family of 11, including two adults and nine children, was hospitalized after ingesting toxic wild mushrooms on Friday evening. The family, who resides in Peach Bottom Township, fell ill after picking and consuming mushrooms they found in the woods near their home.
Emergency responders from multiple counties, including York, Lancaster, and Harford, were dispatched to the scene after being alerted to a “mass casualty incident” by the Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company. The family, ranging in age from 1 to 39, began experiencing symptoms after dinner, prompting one family member to walk half a mile to a phone booth to call 911 for help.
https://x.com/NTDNews/status/1846213190658437289
According to Delta-Cardiff Fire Chief Laura Taylor, all 11 individuals were transported to WellSpan York Hospital for treatment and were in stable condition. The family was reportedly treated for mushroom poisoning, and all members were released from the hospital by the following morning.
The fire department and Pennsylvania State Police responded swiftly to the situation, with emergency units managing the incident in just over an hour. Local authorities have not yet confirmed the exact type of mushroom consumed, but it is known that toxic mushrooms can cause a range of symptoms, from gastrointestinal discomfort to potentially fatal liver failure.
The Cleveland Clinic advises that identifying wild mushrooms can be difficult, and consuming them without expert identification can lead to severe health risks. Authorities are reminding residents to avoid eating wild mushrooms unless properly identified by an expert to prevent future incidents like this.
This is the second time this year that mushroom-related incidents have made headlines in Pennsylvania, raising concerns about the risks associated with foraging for wild mushrooms.
Be careful out there if you’re foraging – even the experts get things wrong sometimes.
