Little White Mushrooms

It appears that a Little White mushroom has no business being deadly, yet it has been blamed for a large number of deaths in China. If mold and yeast are included, there are approximately 50,000 different types of mushrooms in the globe, and science has yet to study them all. That is why the Little White mushroom is so uncommon. For 30 years, there has been a mystery in China's Yunnan province. Every rainy season, more persons died of heart arrest than should be predicted. The fatalities were unexpected, often happening smack in the middle of a conversation. The government investigated for five years before coming up with a solution.

Researchers investigating Yunnan Sudden Death Syndrome discovered that many of the patients had the same mushrooms in their houses. Locals were told not to eat the fungus after it was determined to be the likely cause. The number of strange deaths then fell to zero. Surprisingly, research revealed that, while the mushrooms were toxic, they were not lethal. Something else, possibly barium in the water, is thought to have worked in tandem with the mushrooms to kill.