Mushroom fact of the week
quick lil warning, this contains fairly specific descriptions of poisoning, ye be warned
T-2 Mycotoxin is a highly toxic compound, so much so that it has been utilized as a chemical/biological weapon.
It is naturally occurring in a mold, though the toxin itself can be extracted and appears as a yellow liquid. This gives it the name “yellow rain”.
It is most often naturally absorbed through consumption, though unlike most mycotoxins it can also be absorbed through skin, as well as aerosolized and released into the air. Symptoms from contact will appear within seconds to minutes.
These include severe itching, sores, and shedding of the skin. Effects on the airway include nose and throat pain, coughing and wheezing, shortness of breath, and the victim may cough up blood as a result of pulmonary hemorrhage. Severe cases of poisoning result in weakness, jerky movement, collapse, shock, and death.
In high doses death may occur within minutes to hours.
The Russian military discovered the potential of T-2 Mycotoxin shortly after WW2, when citizens ate bread baked with flour contaminated by the mold, with some contracting deadly illness. It was used in attacks on Southeast Asia in the 1970s and 80s. It is estimated that 6,000 died in the “yellow rain” in Laos.
There is no vaccine, so the standard treatment is intravenous fluids and pain medication.
Use of this toxin is in fact, a violation of the Geneva convention.