E-Paper
13 killed in Assam over one week after eating poisonous mushrooms
The people were from Tinsukia, Charaideo and Dibrugarh districts of Assam. Most of them belong to the tea-garden community and consumed the mushrooms at different places on separate occasions.
Thirteen people including a child have died in districts of Upper Assam in the past 8-10 days after consuming wild mushrooms which were poisonous, health officials disclosed on Wednesday.
All the deaths were reported from the Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh where the victims and others were admitted following severe reactions after eating the mushrooms.
“Till Tuesday, we had admitted 39 patients who were suffering from various ailments due to eating these wild and poisonous mushrooms. In the past 8-10 days, 13 of them including a child have died,” Dr Prasanta Dihingia, superintendent of AMCH, said.
“All the deaths were due to liver and kidney failure of the victims. At present one patient is admitted at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital while the rest are recovering or discharged after treatment,” he added.
Dr Dihingia informed that the patients were from Tinsukia, Charaideo and Dibrugarh districts. Most of them belong to the tea-garden community and consumed the mushrooms at different places on separate occasions.
“We keep getting such cases and deaths every year around this time. Due to rainfall, wild mushrooms grow in a lot of places and people who are unable to distinguish between those which are edible and others that are poisonous, consume them,” he said.
“Most of the victims are uneducated or semi-literate people. There is a need for NGOs and other organisations to spread awareness on this issue so that such deaths can be prevented,” added Dr Dihingia.
