Dear Council Members,
I am a Menlo Park resident and a frequent user of . I wish to tell you of a tragic incident that occurred today and suggest a way that our city may provide a life-saving intervention:
Today we had to euthanize our 12 week old puppy who had fulminant hepatic failure from back-yard contact with a toxic mushroom called Amanita orceata. It’s deadly to pets and humans and even a tiny quantity can kill an adult human in days. There is no treatment for this poisoning except liver transplantation. And yet the fungus appears innocent, like a common toadstool. This species blooms (erupts) through the ground in the spring in warm weather following wet weather, particularly around California coastal oaks and conifers. The Amanita phyloides, the “Death Cap,” is similar but blooms in the autumn.
We are now in a period in which the California Amanita bloom is larger than in the last several decades and in which human deaths are up 300% according to UCSF poison control (personal communication). This once uncommon hazard is now increasingly common. And these mushrooms are an attraction to curious dogs and toddlers of which there are many enjoying the park.
Therefore I am suggesting that the Parks Department instruct its maintenance crews to be on the lookout for these mushrooms every day and dispose of them if found. Perhaps you might put up warning signs to warn park users, because knowledge of this hazard is almost unknown to the public. Even I, a Stanford School of Medicine professor, was unaware.
This may well prove to be one of the most life-saving actions your government may ever do.
Thank you for reading this long email.
Elliot Krane, MD, FAAP, FASA
Professor Emeritus
Stanford University School of Medicine
Center for Academic Medicine
Pediatric Anesthesia 5663
453 Quarry Road
Stanford, CA 94305-5663
