Mushroom poisoning cases have risen in China but the number of deaths went down slightly in 2024 compared to the year before.

In 2024, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention investigated 599 mushroom poisoning incidents. These outbreaks affected 1,486 patients and resulted in 13 deaths. In 2023, 505 reports of mushroom poisoning with 1,303 patients and 16 deaths were reported.

Investigators identified 110 poisonous mushroom species in 2024 causing seven clinical disease types, including eight species newly documented as poisonous. This brings the number of mushroom species involved in poisoning incidents in China to 246, according to a study published in China CDC Weekly.

The number of cases per incident ranged from 1 to 14, with 11 outbreaks involving more than 10 patients. Among these cases, 50 patients from 17 incidents consumed poisonous mushrooms purchased from markets, 37 patients from 14 incidents were poisoned after eating dried mushrooms, and 15 patients from 10 incidents consumed uncooked wild mushrooms.

Poisonings occurred throughout the year, with the highest frequency between June and October, peaking in June. Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan, Guizhou, and Chongqing were the most affected regions. Five deaths were reported in Guizhou, two each in Sichuan, Chongqing, and Heilongjiang, and one each in Hunan, and Jiangsu.

Southwestern China was the most severely affected region, with 321 incidents, 882 patients, and nine deaths, ...