Swiss mushroom pickers face shortage of poison antidote
The public is invited to have all self-picked mushrooms inspected by a mushroom control station; addresses of these local control points can be found at www.vapko.ch.
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss mushroom pickers face shortage of poison antidote
The current shortage of the antidote used to treat mushroom poisoning is problematic. Tox Info Suisse urges amateur mushroom pickers to have all mushroom pickings checked by an official mushroom inspection body.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Français
fr
Cueillette de champignons: contrôles impératifs faute d’antidote
Original
The antidote used in cases of Amanita phalloides poisoning is not available in Switzerland or abroad until at least mid-November, the Tox Info Suisse foundation said on Monday. Other therapeutic options are also limited.
Every year, Tox Info Suisse reports several hundred cases of mushroom poisoning, some of them serious. Mushroom poisoning that is not properly treated can be fatal.
In 2023, Tox Info saw 98 cases of mushroom poisoning documented by doctors (compared with 91 the previous year), including one serious case in an adult, according to the latest data provided to Keystone-SDA news agency. Only one case, of moderate severity, was attributable to Amanita phalloides.
In order to limit the number of potentially serious health problems to a minimum, the public is invited to have all self-picked mushrooms inspected by a mushroom control station. The addresses of these local control points can be found at www.vapko.ch.
In Switzerland the emergency number for poisoning is 145. Specially trained physicians will give advice 24/7 in cases of poisoning with, for example, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, other drugs, poisonous plants, mushrooms or venomous animals.
Translated from French with DeepL/gw
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
Is artificial intelligence an advantage or a disadvantage for workers?
What is your experience with AI at work? Have you already used it? Has it helped you work better? Or has it caused you more stress, more work or caused you to lose your job? Tell us about your experiences!
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.