KSU activists’ arrest sparks tension in Meghalaya amidst murder probe
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Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the ‘Death Cap,’ are the poisonous mushrooms that killed six people at a remote village in Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills district in April.
Late last month, six people, including a 14-year-old girl of Lamin village along the India-Bangladesh border in Amlarem civil sub-division died after consuming wild mushrooms they collected from a nearby forest.
“The wild mushroom has been identified as Amanita phalloides and is hepatotoxic as it directly affects the liver,” state’s Director of Health Services (MI), Aman War was quoted by news agency as saying.
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He said it has been established after an investigation that the cause of the deaths was the poisonous mushrooms.
Earlier, at least 18 persons from three families were taken ill after consuming the mushrooms.
The symptoms after consuming the poisonous fungus include vomiting, headache and unconsciousness, the senior doctor said.
Most of those taken ill, including a pregnant woman, have already recovered and gone home. Therefore, people can survive as it depends on the amount of poison that you have consumed. Only one person was unaffected, maybe he did not consume much, he said.
“Three people are still undergoing treatment and are recovering. Two of them are at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) and one in Woodland Hospital,” said War.
The health department can only appeal to the people, especially those in the rural areas, to refrain from eating wild mushrooms, while the horticulture department should take measures to create awareness among people, according to the Director, Health services.
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