Latest news with #poisonous
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
One year old 'wonder boy' wey bite cobra snake to death
Dis one year old boy don turn local celeb afta tori comot say im bite poisonous cobra snake to death for July 24. Little Govind Kumar bin dey play for im family garden for Mohchi Bankatwa for Bihar state India, wey dey close to border wit Nepal wen im see di snake. "Im mama bin dey work for di back garden,' na so im grandma Matisari Devi tok. "E catch di snake and use teeth bite am. We come notice say na cobra snake" na so Govind loose consciousness dat time, im family rush am go local hospital. "Wen we admit di child, im face bin swell up especially im mouth side," na wetin Dr Kumar Saurabh tok. Im be di doctor wey treat Govind for Goment Medical College for Bettiah wey be capital of Bihar. E tok say dat same day im also treat anoda pikin wey cobra snake bite. Say both pikins now dey healthy. Dr Saurabh explain say though di two cases dey harmful to humans, one dey much more dangerous. "Wen cobra bite human, im venom dey enta human bloodstream and cause neurotoxicity wey dey affect our nervous system. Dis fit lead to death," na so e tell BBC. "Wen humun bite cobra, di poison go reach our digestive system. Di human body go neutralize am and di poison go pass through." Na wetin Dr Saurabh tok. E add say e for dey worst if to say di pikin get bleeding points for im digestive tract. India na home to nearly 300 snake species and more dan 60 of dem get venom and cobra dey considered as one of di most dangerous among dem. Dem don mark di kontri as 'di snakebite capital of di world" and di rate of death by snakebites don increase due to di Monsoon season. World Health Organization (WHO) estimate say around 81,000 to 130,000 pipo dey die sake of snake bites worldwide evri year. Between 2000 and 2019, average of 58,000 pipo dey die of snake bites for India per year according to WHO. But di number of deaths wey snakebite cause for di kontri still dey widely underreported sake of lack of access to medical care for areas wia di incidents dey happun, according to India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
ABC News
10-07-2025
- ABC News
Should iNaturalist hide poisonous mushroom locations after the Erin Patterson trial?
On Monday, a jury found Erin Patterson guilty on all counts — three charges of murder and one of attempted murder using death cap mushrooms. The prosecution argued Patterson saw posts about death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) on a niche citizen science website called iNaturalist. In the wake of the trial, fungi experts are debating whether or not to continue allowing exact locations of poisonous mushrooms to be visible on public databases. iNaturalist allows anyone to post photos, exact locations of animals, plants and fungi — including poisonous mushrooms. Once the photo is uploaded, the community helps identify the species. The observations can then be used by foragers, researchers or the general public to track mushroom locations, and avoid or remove those that could be poisonous. Jasmin Packer, a conservation biologist at the University of Adelaide urged people to not stop making observations and uploading them. "We still really want people to post photos of all fungi," she said. "But it's a question whether people … need to be protected from some of the harmful fungi being posted." Dr Packer is the vice president of Fungimap, a large citizen science project that records fungi around Australia using iNaturalist. While only a small number of the 120,000 fungi observations on Fungimap identify death cap mushrooms, Fungimap makes up about a quarter of the iNaturalist observations of death cap mushrooms recorded in Australia. Dr Packer suggested more discussion was needed to come to a consensus within the community of fungi experts on whether extra safeguards should be added for viewing the observations. "We need to have some roundtable discussions around how best to deal with that," she said. "It's an important conversation." Michael Priest, president of Fungimap and a mycologist, said completely hiding the observations from public view was not a solution he was comfortable with. "We did have a brief discussion at our recent AGM on how we should flag these things," Dr Priest said. "I spoke out strongly against hiding records because I believe iNaturalist … is also a very good educational tool." Many iNaturalist observations list the exact location, including longitude and latitude of where the mushrooms are found. This can be extremely useful in certain situations, and allows people — particularly those who forage for mushrooms — to avoid locations where death cap mushrooms might be present. But if this data is being misused, Dr Packer suggests the "obscure" function on iNaturalist could keep the observation public, but conceal the exact location. When locations are obscured, instead of a small dot, a large square is placed over the map, and only a general area is provided. In all other ways, the observation can be viewed as normal. This can be done easily when uploading a record, and is already used when a rare plant or mushroom needs to be protected from visitors. "You'll be able to see the record, but the location will be fuzzy," Dr Packer said. Dr Priest said this was a good solution in the short term, but argued it might have unintended consequences down the track. "It's something that could be considered by people if they were wary about it … at least until things have quietened down again," he said. "But I think at some point in time we would need to know some of those records, because we are interested in tracking how [death cap mushrooms] are spreading throughout the country." While most people that use websites like iNaturalist are enthusiasts, there are also a number of research and government organisations that use the data. Observations that have been designated "research grade" — when multiple people agree on the identification of the species — are added into the Atlas of Living Australia and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The Atlas of Living Australia is a collaboration between governments, CSIRO and Australia's museums, and is considered "Australia's national biodiversity database". "There are governments in several states that have programs where they actually go out and collect all the sporebodies of [death cap mushrooms]," Dr Packer said. "Over several weeks they're constantly monitoring to see where the [mushrooms] appear, and removing them to keep people safe." For example, in the 2025 season, the ACT Government's City Services removed almost 900 death cap mushrooms from locations across Canberra. Dr Priest noted that because death cap mushrooms were associated with oak trees, it was extremely hard to remove them once they were established in a location. "American oak trees that were planted back in the 1950s and '60s as a sign of the American-Australian relationship … We believe that's one of the reasons that it came into Australia — at least into Canberra." "Because it's associated with trees, unless you actually get rid of the tree, you won't get rid of the mushroom." For Dr Priest, the good that comes from uploading poisonous mushrooms to databases like iNaturalist still vastly outweighs the bad, despite the outcome of the trial. "The Erin Patterson case is such an unusual one, which, of course, is why it garnered so much interest from not just here, but from overseas," he said. "It shows such things are possible whenever you start producing huge public databases or applications like iNaturalist.
The Guardian
17-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Surge in death cap mushrooms in NSW and SA as scientists warn some deadly fungi look like supermarket varieties
New South Wales and South Australia residents have been warned to stay away from wild mushrooms after a surge in the detection of highly poisonous death caps, including in Sydney. Amanita phalloides, commonly known as death cap mushrooms, have been found growing in Sydney, the southern highlands, southern NSW and the Adelaide hills after high rainfall, health officials say. . They warn that children are particularly at risk. NSW Health did not disclose exact areas where the death caps had been found, so people would not seek them out. The chief scientist at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, Prof Brett Summerell, said some poisonous varieties could look 'just like a mushroom you'd buy from the supermarket', making them extremely dangerous to forage. 'They're usually associated with the roots of oak trees and exotics, as well as cooler areas,' he said. 'In Sydney we've found them in areas with established trees.' It is estimated that half a death cap mushroom can kill an adult, and the species has caused 90% of the world's mushroom-related fatalities. Last year 23 people were hospitalised for the toxic effect of ingested mushrooms in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory, including two children under five. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Amid coverage of the high-profile Victorian mushroom trial, Summerell said there had been a rise in people uploading sightings on websites like iNaturalist, where users identify plants and other living organisms. 'People are taking more notice of mushrooms,' he said. 'The notoriety helps to get people interested.' Originating in Europe, death caps were first confirmed to be growing in Australia in the 1960s, initially in Canberra and then Melbourne in the 1970s. The species has spread to Asia, southern Africa and the Americas, probably on the roots of imported trees. Wild mushrooms typically grow from late summer to early winter in wet and damp weather. Summerell said as oak trees were generally propagated in Victoria, they could have been transported to NSW that way, or grown undetected. 'After the 2019/2020 fires, there's been year after year of intense rain, so there may have been a combination of good mushroom seasons and propagation,' he said. The NSW Poisons Information Centre (PIC) said it had responded to 363 calls for exposure to wild mushrooms across NSW and the ACT in 2024, up 26% from 2023. In the year to 31 May 2025, there had been 190 calls related to wild mushroom exposure. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Most cases involved symptoms of poisoning, the medical director of NSW PIC, Dr Darren Roberts said. More than half (196) of calls in 2024 related to children under five who had ingested mushrooms while playing outside in NSW and the ACT. The SA PIC took 100 mushroom-related calls last year, with 23 hospitalisations. Almost half of calls related to children under five. Roberts said the volume of calls about young children was a 'concern'. 'Wild mushrooms can pop up overnight, so it is really important parents check any outdoor spaces where their child plays and remove wild mushrooms as they appear.' Genevieve Adamo, a senior specialist at the NSW centre, said symptoms of mushroom poisoning included stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea. At least 10 deaths in Australia have been attributed to death caps, including a 98-year-old Melbourne woman who picked them from her garden in 2024 and three lunch guests in Leongatha, Victoria, in 2023. Adamo said the onset of symptoms could occur up to 24 hours after ingestion, depending on the type and amount eaten. Early treatment was 'vital' to survival, she said. 'As young children have a tendency to put things in their mouths, they can be at risk,' she said. 'Watch your children … especially around large trees in parks or your garden at home where mushrooms may grow.' If you worried that mushroom poisoning may have occurred, do not wait for symptoms to appear. Call the Poisons Information Centre immediately on 13 11 26
