Germany attributes spike in mushroom poisonings to foraging refugees

Toxicologists blame 40 cases, with one fatality so far, on mainly Syrian arrivals mistaking poisonous fungi such as the death cap for food

Most refugees have already defied the odds by the time they arrive in Europe, having typically undertaken perilous journeys across land and sea. But once they have reached Germany they are not out of danger, according to mushroom experts and doctors, who warn record numbers of people are becoming ill after eating poisonous mushrooms.

A leading German toxicologist has said poisonings are at an all-time high owing to the large number of newcomers foraging for mushrooms and mistaking those they find for varieties found in their homelands.