4 Dead, 3 Need Liver Transplants After Eating Toxic Mushrooms in California

Death cap mushrooms are proliferating in California after heavy rains, leading to a spike in poisonings.

Feb. 7, 2026 at 12:55am

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Four people have died and three others have required liver transplants after eating the highly poisonous death cap mushroom, which is spreading rapidly across California following a rainy winter. The California Department of Public Health is urging people to avoid foraging for mushrooms altogether this year, as the death cap is easily confused with safe, edible varieties.

Why it matters

The death cap mushroom is one of the most toxic in the world, containing compounds that cause liver failure in 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings globally. Experts say the unusually high number of cases this year is due to a 'super bloom' of the mushrooms after warm fall temperatures and early rains.

The details

Since November 18, there have been more than three dozen cases of death cap poisonings reported, including the four deaths and three liver transplants. Many of those sickened suffered from rapidly evolving acute liver injury and failure, requiring intensive care. The victims have ranged in age from 19 months to 67 years old.

  • Since November 18, there have been more than three dozen cases of death cap poisonings reported.
  • In a typical year, there are between two and five death cap poisonings.

The players

California Department of Public Health

The state health department that is urging people to avoid mushroom foraging this year due to the proliferation of death cap mushrooms.

Dr. Craig Smollin

Medical director for the San Francisco Division of the California Poison Control System, who noted the 'magnitude' and 'number of people ingesting this mushroom' is 'very unusual' this year.

Laura Marcelino

A 36-year-old woman from Salinas, California who gathered mushrooms that looked like ones she used to forage in her native Oaxaca, Mexico, leading to her and her husband becoming ill and him needing a liver transplant.

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What they’re saying

“The main thing this year is just the magnitude, the number of people ingesting this mushroom. Having almost 40 is very unusual.”

— Dr. Craig Smollin, Medical director, San Francisco Division of the California Poison Control System

“We thought it was safe.”

— Laura Marcelino (San Francisco Chronicle)

What’s next

The California Department of Public Health is expanding its warnings about the death cap mushrooms in multiple languages to reach more of the affected communities.

The takeaway

This outbreak highlights the dangers of foraging for wild mushrooms, even for those familiar with the practice, and the importance of only consuming mushrooms from trusted, expert sources to avoid potentially fatal poisonings.