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The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (January 20) investigating a suspected food poisoning case involving two persons who had eaten porcini mushrooms.
The two patients, a man aged 53 and a woman aged 52, presented with vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea and abdominal pain three to four hours after having dinner with porcini mushrooms purchased from a retailer in Sai Ying Pun and cooked at home on December 19, 2015. They were admitted to Tseung Kwan O Hospital the next day and were discharged on December 22, 2015. They have been in stable condition all along.
The case has been referred to the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for follow-up. The case is still under investigation.
"Mushroom poisoning is generally acute. Common presentations include gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain appearing shortly after ingestion. Depending on the mushroom species, patients may also have other symptoms like profuse sweating, illusion, hallucination, coma or other neurological symptoms, as well as liver failure. Death may result in severe cases," a CHP spokesman said.
"We advise the public to buy mushrooms from reputable and reliable suppliers and not to buy mushroom products which may be mixed with unknown species. Members of the public should not pick wild mushrooms for consumption as it is difficult to distinguish edible mushroom species from inedible ones. Mixing of edible species with inedible or poisonous species of mushroom will not dilute toxicity. Cooking in most cases does not destroy toxicity," the spokesman added.
"If mushroom poisoning is suspected, the patient should seek immediate medical attention and bring along any available remnant for identification," the spokesman said.
Ends/Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Issued at HKT 20:49
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