Key Facts

Mushroom Poisonings in 2012

As it does every year, the InVS monitors mushroom poisoning cases from July 1 to December 31 based on cases recorded by the Poison Control and Toxicovigilance Centers (CAPTV) and the Oscour® emergency network.Between July 2 and November 4, 2012, 1,093 cases were recorded by the CAPTVs, including 164 (15.0%) in Rhône-Alpes and 102 (9.3%) in Pays-de-la-Loire. Franche-Comté and Burgundy ranked 9th and 14th among regions affected by these poisonings, with 50 cases (4.6% of national cases) and 39 cases (3.6%), respectively.In total, 5 deaths were recorded by the CAPTVs, all in October, with none in our regions. A peak in poisonings was observed during weeks 41 to 43 (October 8–28), when a total of 663 cases were recorded by the CAPTV network (60.7% of the total).A decline was observed in week 44. However, a new peak in mushroom poisoning could occur later, depending on weather conditions (as observed in the second half of November 2011). This is why the utmost vigilance remains essential in the coming weeks.