Three members of a family in Ha Giang, a mountainous province in northern Vietnam, died of poisoning after eating wild mushrooms, Hanoi-based Bach Mai hospital informed on Thursday.

The hospital received three poisoning patients transferred from the Ha Giang General Hospital in the namesake province on Tuesday last week.

They suffered acute liver failure with liver enzymes that were 200 times the normal level, blood-clotting disorder, and kidney failure, and were diagnosed with getting poisoning from amatoxins, toxic compounds often found in wild mushrooms, according to the Poison Control Center under Bach Mai Hospital.

B.T.N., a resident in Ha Giang Province, picked the mushrooms from a forest and used them for a meal for her family on Monday last week.

Five people, including three adults, a three-year-old child and a five-year-old one, attended the meal.

About 12 hours after the meal, they developed the symptoms of stomach ache, vomiting, and fatigue, so they were rushed to the Ha Giang General Hospital.

A child suffering serious poisoning died at the hospital, while the remaining child is still receiving treatment at the hospital. 

The three adults were transferred to the Poison Control Center under Bach Mai Hospital.

The trio included the two children’s parents and uncle, said doctor Nguyen Trung Nguyen, director of the Poison Control Center.

Two of them died on Wednesday despite intensive care. Only N. has made positive progress.

Dr. Nguyen said many residents misunderstand that all plants, leaves, and herbs in nature are safe.

However, many kinds of plants and mushrooms are toxic.

“Residents should not pick wild mushrooms for food," Dr. Nguyen said.

"Local officials need to educate residents, especially those in remote areas, about the ill effects of poisonous mushrooms."

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