Doctor Nguyen Thi Thuy Ngan - Deputy Head of the Tropical Diseases Department - Cho Ray Hospital said that the department has just received a male patient (34 years old, residing in Duc Linh district, Binh Thuan ) who was poisoned after eating cicada carcasses because he mistook them for nutritious food "Cordyceps".
Accordingly, on May 21, the male patient went to work in his garden and dug up a cicada pupa with a mushroom shape, so he thought it was cordyceps and brought it home to eat late that night (about 12 to 14 cicada pupa).
Cicada pupae can be infected with toxic fungi, so eating them can cause a high risk of death (photo TL).
Immediately after that, the patient appeared tired, had a headache, stomachache, and vomited a lot, so his family took him to Nam Binh Thuan Regional General Hospital for first aid and then transferred him to Cho Ray Hospital.
The patient was admitted to Cho Ray Hospital in a state of alertness, slowness, urinary retention, muscle weakness, abdominal pain, and vomiting.
At this time the patient's heart rate was slow. According to the doctor, this condition could be due to the patient's previously slow heart rate but not knowing, or it could also be due to the effects of the mushroom.
According to Dr. Ngan, when cicadas lay eggs in the soil, they then develop into larvae (also known as cicada pupae). Cicada pupae are in the soil, possibly next to fungal spores.
These fungi attack and live parasitically on the host (cicada pupa), they will replace the host's tissues and grow long stems.
These fungi will suck nutrients from the host causing the host to die and grow outside of the host's body.
That is why they are called “Cordyceps”. Depending on the type of fungus that parasitizes the host, whether it is beneficial to human health or poisonous, “Cordyceps” can be a nutritious food (traditional Chinese medicine) or toxic to humans, in the case of this patient.
It is currently impossible to determine exactly which type of mushroom is causing poisoning in patients. Diagnosis is mainly based on the patient's medical history and symptoms of poisoning.
Regarding treatment, there is no specific antidote for mushroom poisoning after eating cicada carcasses, only supportive treatment for the symptoms the patient suffers.
Currently, the patient is in the Emergency Resuscitation Room of the Tropical Diseases Department, conscious, responsive and breathing on his own. The patient's limb strength has improved. The patient's heart rate is slightly slow and his pulse and blood pressure are being closely monitored.
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