NAMA Toxicology Reports and Poison Case Registry

NAMA encourages members of the public to report all adverse reactions to mushrooms from simple stomach upsets to rash to severe reactions requiring hospitalization. We seek information for both humans and animals. If you or your pet has had an adverse reaction to mushrooms or if you know details you can share about an adverse reaction to mushrooms, click here to submit an online report. All reports are entered into the NAMA poison case registry database. The registry dates back to the 1970s. A summary of the first thirty years of reports was published in McIlvainea in 2006. At the end of each year, all reports are summarized and published in the journal McIlvainea in order to better educate everyone about which mushrooms are poisonous as well as which mushrooms might cause adverse reactions. In the published reports, we give the date and the state and provide as many details as are known about the event, but we do not identify the individual except by age and sex. We track age because the children and the elderly are more at risk than healthy adults. We include animals because dogs and sometimes other animals are adversely affected by mushrooms. Indeed, dogs are far more likely to die from a mushroom poisoning than humans are. It is our hope that these reports will help pet owners know which mushrooms should be removed from areas where there pets are active, parents know which mushrooms spotted in a young child’s mouth are a risk, and cooks know which mushrooms not to prepare for a meal. Of the 10,000 or so larger fungi of North America, fewer than 100 are dangerously poisonous. On the flip side, fewer than 100 are distinctive, good edibles. It is our hope that these reports will help you sort out the bad actors. A list of past reports can be found below. Each link is in pdf format unless otherwise noted.