Dr Normah (standing, centre) with participants and invited speakers in the UMS Toxic Mushroom: Identification and Management' course.
Two mushroom poisoning deaths recorded in Sabah — professor
KOTA KINABALU: Many c o m m u n i t i e s nowadays a r e u n a b l e to d i s t i n g u i s h edible m u s h r o o m s f r o m toxic m u s h r o o m s , r e s u l t i n g in poisoning and in some cases, fatality.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Deputy Vice-chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Dr Shahril Yusof said the State Health D e p a r t m e n t recorded 20 out of 111 mushroom poisoning cases between 2001 and 2017, two of which resulted in deaths between 2011 and 2016.
The deaths were recorded in Kota Belud and Kota Marudu, he said, where studies had found that some Kota M a r u d u m u s h r o o m sellers placed a mixture of edible and toxic mushrooms to be sold by the road.
" T h i s is w o r r i s o m e because it shows t h a t m a n y in Sabah, and Malaysia as a whole, a r e still u n a b l e to i d e n t i f y and d i f f e r e n t i a t e toxic m u s h r o o m s from edible ones.
" M u s h r o o m poisoning cases a r e serious and preventive measures must be put in place to overcome this problem," he said, at the closing of the UMS 'Toxic Mushroom: Identification and Management' course, yesterday.
His speech was delivered by Research and Innovation Centre director Associate Professor Dr Normah Awang Besar.
Dr Shahril said the course was organised with the aim of raising a w a r e n e s s on toxic m u s h r o o m poisoning cases prevalent in Sabah, in addition to providing training to officers in government departments in the State as well as in West Malaysia.
" T h e c o u r s e is also to add knowledge on the v a r i e t y of edible and inedible mushrooms in Sabah.
"Moreover, we also wanted to strengthen interaction between government d e p a r t m e n t and private sector personnel, as well as NGOs, so the e - m u s h r o o m emergency network is more
a l e r t towards poisoning cases in Sabah," he added.
The course received attendance from 26 p a r t i c i p a n t s of diverse backgrounds, namely f r o m the State Health Department, Sabah Parks, Sabah Foundation Group, Sabah F o r e s t r y D e p a r t m e n t , Sarawak Forestry Department and Forest R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e Malaysia (FRIM), including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Forever Sabah K a m p u n g Babagon Toki, Inanam.
Invited speakers were Kuala Lumpur Hospital Emergency and T r a u m a D e p a r t m e n t medical officer Dr B a r a n Palanimuthu, Sabah State Health Department medical officer Dr Michal C h r i s t i n a Steven and Dr J a y a Seelan Sathiya Seelan.
Participants also took part in a m u s h r o o m sampling activity at the UMS Hill t r a i l , where they l e a r n e d how to i d e n t i f y and d i f f e r e n t i a t e edible and poisonous mushrooms.
Headline Two mushroom poisoning deaths recorded in Sabah — professor MediaTitle Borneo Post (KK)
Date 12 Jul 2018 Color Black/white
Section Home Circulation 19,988
Page No 4 Readership 59,964
Language English ArticleSize 334 cm²
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