Death cap mushrooms: why are they so toxic and how can poisoning be treated?

Eating even a very small amount of the mushrooms at the centre of the suspected poisoning in Victoria can be fatal, and treatment is often only effective if administered very quickly

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Three people are dead and one is in a critical condition in a Melbourne hospital from suspected mushroom poisoning after eating a beef wellington pie in the Victorian town of Leongatha.

Police have said their symptoms were consistent with having eaten death cap mushrooms, although the official cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

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