An eight-year-old boy is dead after eating strawberries from a school fundraiser, authorities said.
On Friday, around 6:30 a.m. local time, the Madisonville Police Department responded to a call about the child, who was unresponsive and not breathing, according to 14 News.
The boy’s family told authorities he had eaten strawberries from a school fundraiser the night before and began showing signs of an allergic reaction, including a rash.
The child — whose identity has not been released — was given Benadryl and bathed in an attempt to ease the symptoms, but when they didn’t go away, the family took him to the emergency room, according to 14 News, though they were later discharged.
When they went to wake the boy up for school the next morning, the family found him unresponsive, according to the publication.
Strawberry.
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After the boy’s death, the Hopkins County Health Department issued a warning on social media not to eat strawberries purchased at a Hopkins County school fundraiser.
The group said 443 apartments were distributed by Madisonville North Hopkins High School and 535 apartments were distributed by Hopkins County Central High School from Juicy Fruit LLC, Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms.
“Currently, the Department of Public Health, environmentalists are taking samples of the strawberries to a state lab for testing. Although this incident may be unrelated, the decision has been made to exercise caution and advise against eating any of these strawberries,” Hopkins wrote the county’s Bureau of health care.
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In a subsequent post, the organization said medical examiner Dr. Christopher Kiefer said the incident “appears to be an isolated allergic reaction,” noting, “He says this is a preliminary report, so we still advise against eating strawberries at this time.”
The Madisonville Police Department, as well as Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. Juicy Fruit LLC was unavailable in the meantime.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education