Raymond Jaravaza, raymondjaravaza@gmail.com
THE death of two family members from a mushroom poisoning incident in the Mbembeswana area of Bubi District, Matabeleland North Province, has jolted the community while two minors are battling for their lives at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo after they consumed deadly mushrooms last week Monday.
The family of four, 52-year-old Mrs Sinothando Gwayi, her daughter Sanelisiwe Ndlovu (14) and two grand-children — Primrose Ndlovu (13) and three-year-old Precious Ndlovu — was rushed to Mbembeswana Clinic after eating the poisonous delicacy.
The family members were then transferred to Mpilo Central Hospital a day later.
Unfortunately, Mrs Ndlovu passed away yesterday morning, two days after her granddaughter Primrose succumbed to illness caused by the poisonous mushrooms that they ate.
Sanelisiwe and little Precious are battling for their lives at the country’s second-largest referral hospital. A distraught Miss Prudence Ndlovu, daughter of the late granny and mother of the deceased teenager, who is based in South Africa, said she rushed back to Bubi as soon as she heard news that her family members were taken ill after eating the deadly mushrooms.
She is baffled at how her mother mistook poisonous mushrooms for edible ones, given that the elderly woman had been harvesting mushrooms for the family for years.
“Ever since I was a young girl, my mother has always been the one who forages for the mushrooms in our area when it rains. I have no idea how this time around she harvested the wrong mushrooms.
“I have lost a mother and a daughter and I am at a loss of words,” said Prudence at Mpilo Hospital yesterday.
“My sister (Mrs Patience Ngwenya) is with her little girl at the children’s ward. Our prayer is for the little girl and my surviving young sister Sanelisiwe to recover. We can’t lose more family members,” she said in between sobs.
Mpilo Central Hospital public relations officer, Mrs Noma Mabhena, cautioned against the consumption of wild mushrooms, especially at a time when the delicacy is in abundance in the bush as a result of the recent rains.
She confirmed the death of two patients at Mpilo Hospital from mushroom poisoning.
“Unfortunately, two patients lost their lives after eating poisonous mushrooms. We appeal to the residents of Bulawayo and villagers from across the region to avoid eating mushrooms without the proper knowledge of whether the mushrooms are safe for human consumption or not,” said Mrs Mabhena.
Chronicle took a quick survey around the marketplace in Bulawayo’s city centre and observed that several vendors were selling a variety of mushrooms, some whitish while others were brightly coloured and came in various sizes.
The biggest mushrooms on sale in the streets of Bulawayo are bigger than an adult’s hand while the smallest are no bigger than a finger.
Miss Ntombi Moyo, a vendor, said she travelled from Matobo early yesterday morning into Bulawayo to sell a 25 kilogram bag of mushrooms that she harvested from the mountains in her village over the weekend.
Ms Moyo said the type of mushrooms she was selling is known in IsiNdebele as “indlebe zikagogo”.
“This type of mushroom is not poisonous. In fact, my family will eat the mushrooms tonight for dinner in my absence.
“I learned the difference between edible mushrooms and the poisonous ones from my mother who got that knowledge from my late grandmother,” said Ms Moyo.
She said edible mushrooms are harvested from special places such as ant hills or in the mountains but warned that villagers without the knowledge to differentiate the poisonous from the non-poisonous types should not attempt harvesting the delicacy.
“We had an incident a couple of years ago when a young girl in our village harvested poisonous mushrooms and cooked them for her siblings. They all died.
“Child-headed families are usually at the risk of eating poisonous mushrooms because there is no adult to harvest the right kind of mushrooms for the kids,” she added. Another vendor, Mr Agrippa Mpande, said despite the mushroom business being lucrative, he will never sell the delicacy for fear of ending up with the poisonous type.
“I have no idea what to look for when separating the right type of mushrooms from the bad ones. What if someone brings bad mushrooms from their village and the next thing families start dying because they bought poisonous mushrooms from me?” asked Mr Mpande.
The news crew observed about 12 vendors selling different kinds of mushrooms, just yesterday alone, around the marketplace area.
An oyster mushroom grower Mrs Fallon Sibanda, who also sells fresh produce at the city centre marketplace, said she sells mushrooms that she grows in Woodville suburb for US$1 per punnet.
It takes a month from the time she plants the mushrooms to the time when they are ready for harvest and for sale to customers in Bulawayo.
“Most people are skeptical about buying mushrooms outside formal shops such as supermarkets but I have a clientele base that I built over the years, to which I sell my home-grown mushrooms. This time of the year, when it’s raining is when mushrooms are in abundance in the streets of Bulawayo, so it’s important to buy from trusted vendors,” said Mrs Sibanda.
A mushroom expert, Mr Colet Nyakunu, also warned against the consumption of mushrooms harvested from the wild.
“While wild mushrooms can be tempting to forage, it is not advisable to pick them from the bush due to the risk of misidentification and potential toxicity,” he said. “Instead, cultivated mushrooms offer a safe and sustainable way to incorporate these nutritional powerhouses into our diets.
“Mushrooms, packed with nutrients and antioxidants, offer a natural and sustainable way to enhance our diets and improve our health. By incorporating mushrooms into our daily meals, we can support immune function, reduce inflammation and provide essential nutrients for healthy growth and development.”
Mr Nyakunu said in Zimbabwe, cultivated mushrooms are becoming increasingly popular with local farmers and entrepreneurs exploring the potential of the lucrative mushroom industry.
“From oyster, shiitake, button, and Portobello mushrooms, a wide range of species are being cultivated using sustainable methods.
“Cultivated mushrooms are packed with nutrients that include protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
“Incorporating cultivated mushrooms into our diet can have a significant impact on our health and well-being,” he added.
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