Scientists claim to have solved the mystery deaths in China
Families, who make their living by collecting and selling the fungi, eat the Little White as it has no commercial value – it is too small and turns brown shortly after being picked.
A campaign to warn people against eating the tiny mushrooms has dramatically reduced the number of deaths. There have been no reported deaths so far this year.
It is not just about the mushroom. The article ends with a twist.
…the toxins could be acting together with high concentrations of barium, a heavy metal, in the local water supply
Uh, that does not sound very good either. Will there be a warning about the water too? Barium is said to cause the symptoms blamed on the mushrooms.
All water or acid soluble barium compounds are poisonous. At low doses, barium acts as a muscle stimulant, while higher doses affect the nervous system, causing cardiac irregularities, tremors, weakness, anxiety, dyspnea and paralysis.
Some are not affected by it, apparently, while others are very sensitive, which must make the investigation difficult. This new killer mushroom discovery sounds much more interesting than yet another pollution story, but perhaps it will still bring attention to the need for better water quality.