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.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Over a quarter of Swiss Catholics consider leaving the church
This content was published on
In Switzerland 27% of Catholics have thought about leaving the church, according to a survey by the Sotomo research centre.
This content was published on
Following the Credit Suisse debacle, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is adapting its organisation.
This content was published on
The Swiss Armed Forces are training their fighter jets in Bern to fly from a civilian base. The exercise at Bern Airport will last until Wednesday.
Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva
This content was published on
Preparations for a huge new particle accelerator in Geneva have reached a milestone. After several years of work, a feasibility study for the project has now been finalised.
This content was published on
The value of frozen Russian assets in Switzerland currently stands at CHF7.4 billion ($8.4 billion), the Swiss government announced on Tuesday.
This content was published on
The number of business start-ups in Switzerland accelerated in the first three months of the year, with entrepreneurs being particularly dynamic in Central Switzerland, Basel and Geneva.
Most Swiss authorities want to ban Nazi symbols in public
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss political parties, cantons and associations want to ban the use and distribution of Nazi symbols in public.
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.