Wellington Regional Public Health has issued warnings to the residents against all kind of wild mushrooms after a one-year-old child fell ill because of eating mushrooms in a Kapiti Park.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Jill McKenzie told The Dominion Post that all wild mushrooms must be treated as highly poisonous as it is not possible to identify which one are safe and which are not. He said that these wild mushrooms are not poisonous to touch but can cause severe health complications when eaten.

Dr. McKenzie has advised the people to remove mushrooms from their backyards and gardens to avoid any contact with these mushrooms. He has urged the parents to closely monitor the growth of mushrooms in parks, where children play because a cooler weather provides best conditions for fungi to grow.

He said that mushrooms can cause a number of symptoms depending upon the level of toxicity, including vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, and serious problems affecting the heart, liver, or kidney. If the children exhibit any of these symptoms or have eaten a wild mushroom parents must immediately seek the advice of National Poisons Centre.