Caála: Five members of the same family, including a nine-month-old baby, are currently in serious condition at Caála Municipal Hospital in Huambo province. The family has been hospitalised in intensive care following alleged food poisoning from consuming mushrooms.
According to Angola Press News Agency, a press release from the Civil Protection and Fire Service Command in Huambo province indicated that the incident occurred on Tuesday night in the Rua-Nova neighbourhood, Calenga commune, Caála municipality. The family members began feeling ill shortly after eating the mushrooms and were initially taken to the Calenga commune health centre. Due to the severity of their symptoms, they were later transferred to the largest hospital in the municipality.
Mushrooms, known in Ovimbundu culture as turtulho, are the fruiting bodies of various species of fungi. They can grow both underground (hypogeous) and above ground (epigeous) and are typically collected by hand. The edibility of mushrooms is determined by severa
l criteria, including the absence of toxic effects on humans and desirable aroma and flavour. Reports suggest that only about 10 percent of mushrooms are considered edible.
The incident comes in the wake of a recent advisory by the Ministry of Health (MINSA), which banned the consumption of several food items, including cassava, ginguba, raw reindeer, and sweet potatoes, due to cases of food poisoning that resulted in two deaths. The press release from MINSA noted that these cases exhibited symptoms consistent with ‘Konzo disease’. The ministry recommended that these foods be washed in hot water before being cooked or fried to prevent potential poisoning.