Hospital Releases Man Who Ate Toxic Mushrooms; Wife Still Critical

Mon., Sept. 29, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

A man who was hospitalized after eating poisonous mushrooms on Friday went home on Sunday.

Alex Mishchuk, 28, of Vancouver, Wash., was released from University Hospital in Portland. His wife, Vera Mishchuk, 32, remained in critical condition at the same hospital.

The two accidentally ate so-called “death cap” mushrooms - one of the most poisonous fungi in the country - on Friday.

Poison experts say the warm, wet weather has brought a bumper crop of the sometimes-deadly Amanita phalloides.

The mushrooms - greenish-yellow with tan patches in the center of the cap - can cause liver failure. The active ingredient is aminitin, a substance that binds chemically with the enzymes that form part of the genetic code in liver cells. Symptoms don’t usually appear for six to 12 hours.

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Hospital Releases Man Who Ate Toxic Mushrooms; Wife Still Critical

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