SUSPECTED POISONING OF PUPPIES BY THE MUSHROOM AMANITA-PANTHERINA

Amanita pantherina poisoning is suspected as the cause of a severe, tr ansient neurological disorder in three 5-week-old German shepherd pupp ies. There was very strong circumstantial evidence that this mushroom had been eaten, and the signs encountered were similar to those descri bed in confirmed field cases of intoxication in dogs. It was also in m any respects consistent with the syndrome seen in humans. A veterinary perspective on the hallucinogenic Amanita spp is given and the veteri nary literature on mushroom intoxication is briefly reviewed as, in co ntrast to humans, it is not often reported in animals. This is the Ist report of suspected mushroom intoxication of animals in South Africa.