4 people have died from eating death cap mushrooms as they spread in California after rains

Four people have died and three others have required a liver transplants after eating the death cap mushroom that is proliferating in California following a rainy winter. The California Department of Public Health is urging people to avoid mushroom foraging altogether this year because death cap mushrooms are easily confused with safe, edible varieties. Since Nov. 18 there have been more than three dozen cases of mushroom poisonings reported, according to the health department. Many who sought medical attention suffered from rapidly evolving acute liver injury and liver failure. Several patients required admission to an intensive care unit. They have ranged in age from 19 months to 67 years old.