From mid-November 2025 through mid-January 2026, California faced an amatoxin poisoning outbreak from foraged wild mushrooms, primarily death caps (Amanita phalloides). The California Poison Control System identified 39 hospitalized cases across Northern and Central California counties including Monterey, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and others.
The outbreak resulted in four adult deaths, three liver transplants, and severe injuries affecting patients from 19 months to 67 years old, including family groups. The California Department of Public Health issued repeated statewide advisories urging residents to avoid all wild mushroom foraging during the rainy season.
Heavy winter rains fueled widespread death cap growth under oaks and hardwoods, exacerbating confusion with edible lookalikes amid rising recreational foraging. California's health department and poison center issued multilingual public service announcements and clinician guidance while coordinating with local health departments through a joint press conference to promote case tracking and outreach. National data shows persistent risks: over 4,500 U.S. mushroom exposure calls in 2023 highlighted vulnerabilities especially for young children.
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Timeline
California’s deadly death cap mushroom outbreak
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13 events
Latest: January 21st, 2026 · 7 months ago
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January 2026
Sacramento County reports 4 local cases amid statewide total of 35
LatestLocal Advisory
Sacramento County Public Health aligns with CDPH warnings, noting 4 amatoxin cases locally as CPCS tallies 35 statewide hospitalized patients; urges no wild foraging.
CDPH dashboard: 39 cases and 4 deaths across 10 counties
Outbreak Update
CDPH reports 39 cases (4 deaths) from Nov 18, 2025–Jan 18, 2026, in counties including Alameda, Sacramento, and Sonoma; emphasizes multilingual outreach.
CDPH and CPCS hold joint virtual press conference; NR26-004 details 35 hospitalized cases to Jan 6 (3 deaths, 3 transplants), releases multilingual PSAs and webpages.
December 2025
Ongoing warnings and updated coverage as winter rains continue
Developing
As winter rain continues to create ideal growth conditions for death caps under oaks and other hardwoods, outlets reiterate CDPH’s call for residents to avoid all wild mushroom foraging and to contact poison control immediately if exposure is suspected, while CPCS continues monitoring for additional cases.
AP and national outlets amplify California’s warning
Media Coverage
The Associated Press and partner outlets including ABC News, WSLS, and the Guardian report on California’s outbreak, noting 21 amatoxin cases, one adult death, severe liver damage in several patients (including children), and more than 4,500 unidentified mushroom exposure calls to U.S. poison centers in 2023.
Local media detail Monterey‑area cases and recall past outbreaks
Media Coverage
The San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate publish in‑depth pieces on Monterey County’s rise in mushroom poisonings—typically two or three serious cases per year versus at least seven hospitalizations in 2025—and reference the 2016 Northern California death cap outbreak and a 2023 Australian death cap poisoning case as cautionary examples.
CDPH issues clinician health advisory on severe amatoxin poisoning
Clinical Guidance
CDPH circulates a CAHAN Health Advisory titled “Severe, Potentially Fatal Liver Damage in Children and Adults Associated with Consumption of Foraged Wild Mushrooms,” detailing the 21 cases, one death, and two potential liver transplants, and providing recommendations for clinicians, including early admission, toxicology consultation, and consideration of intravenous silibinin.
CDPH public press release warns against any wild mushroom foraging
Public Advisory
In press release NR25‑023, CDPH publicly announces an “outbreak of potentially deadly amatoxin poisoning” linked to wild, foraged mushrooms, confirms 21 cases and one death, and strongly advises Californians not to forage wild mushrooms during the current rainy season, emphasizing that toxins are not destroyed by cooking.
Monterey County warns residents after spike in mushroom‑related liver failure
Local Advisory
Monterey County Health Department issues a health advisory describing severe hepatotoxicity and hospitalizations following consumption of wild mushrooms, including earlier cases tied to death caps sold by an unauthorized seller, and warns residents not to eat wild mushrooms unless identified by experts.
November 2025
Onset of 2025 amatoxin poisoning cluster in California
Outbreak
Over roughly two and a half weeks starting in mid‑November 2025, CPCS identifies 21 cases of suspected Amanita phalloides poisoning among people who consumed foraged wild mushrooms, with clusters in Monterey County and the San Francisco Bay Area and cases including both adults and children.
January 2025
Governor Newsom appoints Erica Pan to lead CDPH
Leadership
Governor Gavin Newsom announces that Dr. Erica Pan, then State Epidemiologist and Deputy Director for the Center for Infectious Diseases, will serve as the next Director and State Public Health Officer of CDPH effective February 1, 2025, positioning her to lead future statewide health responses.
March 2017
CDPH issues broad caution on collecting and eating wild mushrooms
Public Advisory
Following prior poisonings, CDPH releases a statewide press statement urging Californians to use extreme caution when collecting or consuming wild mushrooms, warning that toxic species can resemble edible varieties and that proper identification requires expert mycologists.
December 2016
Northern California death cap mushroom outbreak provides grim precedent
Historical Precedent
In December 2016, the California Poison Control System identified 14 cases of Amanita phalloides (death cap) poisoning across five Northern California counties, many requiring intensive care and three liver transplants; all survived, though one child had permanent neurologic impairment. The outbreak prompted state and local health warnings and remains a key case study in amatoxin toxicity.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 3
December 2016 – June 2017 (publication of MMWR report)
Northern California Amanita phalloides Outbreak (2016)
In December 2016, the California Poison Control System investigated 14 cases of Amanita phalloides (death cap) poisoning in Northern California after local mycologists reported an unusually large bloom following heavy rains. Patients developed delayed gastrointestinal symptoms followed by severe liver injury; three required liver transplants, and one child was left with permanent neurologic impairment, though all survived.
Then
State and county health departments, working with CPCS, issued press releases warning residents against eating foraged wild mushrooms and advising clinicians to consider amatoxin poisoning when evaluating gastroenteritis with evolving liver failure.
Now
The event became a reference case in toxicology literature and informed later advisories, including CDPH’s 2016–2017 mushroom warnings and its 2025 guidance, establishing a template for clinician education and public messaging during similar outbreaks.
Why this matters now
The 2016 outbreak closely mirrors the 2025 situation in geography, mushroom species, rainfall‑driven bloom, and clinical course, offering a direct precedent for how quickly clusters can grow and how early recognition and aggressive care can prevent deaths despite severe liver injury.
2 of 3
July 29, 2023 – September 8, 2025
Leongatha Death Cap Mushroom Murders (Australia, 2023–2025)
In July 2023, Erin Patterson hosted a lunch in Leongatha, Victoria, serving beef Wellington later found to contain death cap mushroom toxins; three relatives died from fulminant liver failure and a fourth required a liver transplant. She was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder and, after a widely covered trial, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a lengthy non‑parole period.
Then
The case triggered intense media attention, emergency public health investigations into possible contaminated commercial mushroom supplies, and international coverage of death cap toxicity and forensic mushroom identification.
Now
Leongatha became a touchstone example of both the lethality of death caps and the potential for mushroom poisonings to cross from public health events into criminal law, shaping global public perception of foraged mushrooms as a possible vector for homicide as well as accident.
Why this matters now
While the California outbreak appears accidental, the Australian case shows how death cap poisonings can have legal and social ramifications far beyond individual exposures, informing how authorities might respond if any California cases involve negligence or intent, and underscoring how high‑profile mushroom incidents can shift public attitudes about foraging risk.
3 of 3
Ongoing, with 2023 Annual Report as latest benchmark
National Poison Data System Reports on Mushroom Exposures (U.S., 1980s–2023)
Since the 1980s, the National Poison Data System maintained by America’s Poison Centers has compiled detailed statistics from all U.S. poison centers, documenting hundreds of thousands of environmental and food‑related exposures annually. The 2023 report logged more than 2.08 million human exposures overall and over 4,500 calls about unidentified mushrooms, about half in young children.
Then
NPDS data provide baseline context every year for public health agencies assessing whether localized spikes—such as California’s 2025 death cap outbreak—represent unusual clusters versus expected background levels of mushroom exposure.
Now
Decades of surveillance have informed poison prevention campaigns, pediatric injury prevention efforts, and clinical guidance for environmental toxicology, reinforcing the value of poison centers as sentinel systems for emerging risks.
Why this matters now
The California outbreak is best understood against this national backdrop: the state’s 21 serious amatoxin cases over a few weeks stand out against thousands of generally less severe mushroom exposures nationwide, justifying aggressive intervention despite the small absolute numbers.
