3-year-old dies after reportedly eating a toxic 'death cap' mushroom
A family in Canada is mourning the loss of their young son whose recent death is believed to have been caused by a poisonous mushroom.
CBC News reports that the unnamed three-year old ate a toxic mushroom known as a 'death cap' while foraging with his family in Victoria.
The boy is said to have received care at two different hospitals before dying days later.
According to Victoria News, while an investigation is still underway, an initial test of samples gathered from the foraging site indicates the presence of death caps, which have a normal light-colored mushroom appearance.
Nevertheless, its toxins, which typically attack the liver, are considered to be particularly dangerous because many of them remain active even after cooking.
In fact, the variety has been blamed for the vast majority of the world's mushroom deaths, notes Times Colonist.
Officials are using the tragedy as an opportunity to warn people about the potential dangers of eating wild mushrooms without proper expertise.
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