Girl in coma after mushroom poisoning

Photo: Glowimages

Staff at the Warsaw branch of the specialist Children's Health Centre (CZD) say the child is fighting for her life.

“The girl is in a very serious condition,” commented centre spokesperson Joanna Komolka.

“She is not able to breathe independently,” Komolka said, noting that the child's liver has been seriously damaged.

The four-year-old was transferred to Warsaw on Thursday from a hospital in the town of Olesno, southern Poland.

The picking and eating of wild mushrooms is a time-honoured custom in Poland, and the season is now under way, with recent rains prompting abundant quantities in many parts of the country.

However, each year a number of people are hospitalised, and in some cases the poisoning proves fatal.

A recurrent problem is that some edible varieties are similar in appearance to poisonous ones. In several cities and towns, authorities provide the possibility of having the specimens checked after being picked in the wild. (nh)

Source: IAR