On Friday, eight individuals from two families got sick after consuming wild mushrooms in Salyan district. A child died while seven others are receiving treatment. A family of four got sick after consuming mushroom in Sharada Municipality while another family got ill in Bangad-Kupinde Municipality.
Mina Basnet, 40; Pabitra Basnet, 25; John Basnet, 9; and Joshana Basnet, 4 of Ward No. 4 of Sharada were rushed to Surkhet-based Provincial Hospital. However, four-year-old Joshana died at the hospital.
According to our Salyan correspondent, 48-year-old Bhup Bahadur Oli, his 45-year-old wife Mankali Oli, 23-year-old son Prakash Oli, and 21-year-old daughter-in-law Sushila Oli got ill in Bangad-Kupinde.
Salyan District Police said that the four individuals were taken to Salyan District Hospital and referred to the Provincial Hospital after basic treatment.
Five individuals are said to die annually due to consumption of wild mushrooms in Nepal while many get sick. Authorities informed that concrete data on damages by consuming wild mushroom was still unavailable.
In rainy season, mushrooms grow rampantly across the country, mostly in forest areas. Many villagers pick mushrooms from the wild and consume them after cooking, believing them to be non-poisonous.
However, experts argued that poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms cannot be identified with naked eyes and on the basis of prevalent traditional steps.
In an awareness video on mushrooms by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), Dr. Mahesh Kumar Adhikari, a mushroom expert, has said that the traditional belief of using silver spoon to check whether a mushroom is poisonous or not was totally unscientific.
“There is a belief that silver spoon or onion or garlic doesn’t get black when touched by poisonous mushroom. Similarly, washing mushrooms with timur (Sichuan pepper) mixed water doesn’t cleanse the poison,” said Dr. Adhikari, who is also the secretary at Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAT).
The video also informs that all mushrooms grown in manure, all those releasing milk-like substance and all those eaten by insects were not edible contradicting the traditional beliefs.
“The mushrooms that we consume in Nepal are mostly imported from abroad for commercial farming. Unknown mushrooms shouldn’t be consumed unless being certain them to be non-poisonous. However, it isn’t possible through locally available resources,” Dr. Adhikari said.
According to a report ‘Comprehensive Insights in Vegetables of Nepal’ by NAST, the number of mushroom species on the earth is currently estimated at 150,000–160,000. Out of these, only 16,000 species are classified so far.
The report states that the tradition of collection and consumption of wild edible mushrooms by various ethnic groups (Chepang, Danuwar, Tamang, Tharu and Raute, among others) in Nepal has been very popular since ancient times.
In Nepal, there are altogether 1,291 mushroom species, among them, 159 are edible, 100 are poisonous, 74 are medicinal and 25 are used for other purposes.
Several mushrooms like Ophiocordyceps sinensis (yarsagumba), Morchella spp. (guchhi-chyau) and Ganoderma spp. (rato-chyau) are also exported which make some contribution in the country’s revenue.
Officials informed that studies on nutritional and nutraceutical values of Nepali mushrooms were gaining momentum.
However, there is a need to make public more aware to not consume any mushrooms collected from the wild or surrounding environment since their non-poisonous character couldn’t be assessed easily.
Experts stressed that wild mushroom consumption causes dizziness, nausea and diarrhoea, among others. The individual is suggested to try throwing out consumed mushroom by vomiting and be rushed immediately to a health centre.
Timely medical attention can save lives from mushroom poisoning but experts argue that some mushrooms can be highly poisonous.
Source : TRN,
