California Warns of Deadly Mushroom Outbreak
The California Department of Public Health is raising the alarm on an outbreak of potentially deadly mushrooms, which has hospitalized dozens of people and resulted in several deaths.
Due to recent rain across Northern and Central California, the region has seen a bloom of Amanita phalloides, also known as "death cap mushrooms." They're commonly mistaken for edible mushrooms but can cause amatoxin poisoning if consumed.
As of January 6, the California Poison Control System has recorded 35 hospitalized cases of people from as young as 19 months to 67 years old who were poisoned by consuming wild and foraged mushrooms. Three adults have died. Three people needed liver transplants as a result of the poison.
"Death cap mushrooms contain potentially deadly toxins that can lead to liver failure," Dr. Erica Pan, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer, said in a press release in December 2025. "Because the death cap can easily be mistaken for edible safe mushrooms, we advise the public not to forage for wild mushrooms at all during this high-risk season."
Where Cases Are Happening
The CPCS identified cases across Northern California and the Central Coast, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma counties. Most cases have occurred in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas.
"A single bite of the mushroom could cause significant toxicity," Dr. Craig Smollin, medical director for the San Francisco Division of California Poison Control System, told SFGate during a press conference. "I also want to just stress that there's nothing, there's no cooking of the mushroom or freezing of the mushroom, that would inactivate the toxin."
Smollin also noted this was potentially the "largest outbreak" California had recorded.
How to Stay Safe
The California Department of Public Health is advising people to avoid picking and eating wild mushrooms during this high-risk season. Death cap mushrooms are abundant across Northern California and the Central Coast regions.
Death cap mushrooms can be found growing near oak trees, other hardwoods and sometimes pine trees.
Buy your mushrooms from "trusted grocery stores and retailers" instead. Teach your kids not to pick and eat wild mushrooms.
Symptoms to Watch For
If you think you've consumed a poisonous mushroom, initial symptoms could include watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and dehydration. This can occur within 6 to 24 hours of eating a toxic mushroom.
Symptoms typically resolve within a day, according to the California Department of Public Health. But this may be a brief improvement. People could still develop serious to fatal liver damage within 48 to 96 hours after consumption.
If you believe you've eaten a toxic mushroom, call the California Poison Control System hotline at 800-222-1222. Don't wait for symptoms to appear.
What’s Most Important Remember
Recent rains in Northern and Central California caused a bloom of death cap mushrooms. They grow near oak trees, hardwoods, sometimes pines. Easy to mistake for edible mushrooms if you don't know exactly what you're looking for.
One bite can cause significant toxicity. Cooking doesn't help. Freezing doesn't help. The toxin stays active no matter what you do to the mushroom.
The symptoms are particularly cruel. You eat the mushroom. Within 6 to 24 hours you get sick—diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Then symptoms resolve within a day. You think you're fine. But 48 to 96 hours after eating it, your liver starts failing. By then it might be too late without a transplant. Three people already needed liver transplants from this outbreak. Three people died.
Health officials are being clear: don't forage for wild mushrooms right now. Buy them from grocery stores where they're sourced from commercial growers who know what they're doing. If you think you ate a toxic mushroom, call poison control immediately at 800-222-1222. Don't wait for symptoms. Don't assume you're fine because the symptoms went away. The liver damage comes later.
The most affected areas are Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas, but cases have been reported across nine counties in Northern California and the Central Coast.
This isn't about being overly cautious. Three people are dead. Three needed new livers. Thirty-five ended up in the hospital. All because they ate mushrooms they thought were safe.
Unless you're a trained mycologist who can identify mushrooms with absolute certainty, don't pick wild mushrooms to eat right now. The risk isn't worth it when death caps are blooming everywhere after the recent rains.
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