Kentucky police are investigating after an 8-year-old died after eating strawberries at a school fundraiser. The boy was found unresponsive in his home on Friday, his parents told the police that he had "eaten several strawberries from a high school fundraiser the night before" at Madisonville North Hopkins High School in Kentucky.
The boy's family told authorities that he began showing signs of an allergic reaction, including a rash, the People reported. The parents said they gave Benadryl after he experienced symptoms and soaked him in a bath. However, his symptoms continued to worsen, and he was taken to a nearby hospital around 10.30 pm that night before he was brought back home hours later, the media outlet reported.
Police said the family called authorities after they tried to wake him up for school Friday morning but found him unresponsive. After the boy's death, the Hopkins County Health Department said that a preliminary autopsy report ruled that it was an "isolated allergic reaction."
"Dr. Christopher Kiefer, Medical Examiner, said the incident involving strawberries looks like an isolated allergic reaction," Denise Beach, the Director for the Hopkins County Health Department, said. "He relates that this is a preliminary report, so we still advise not eating the strawberries currently."
The authorities did not say if the boy had preexisting allergies to strawberries.
After the young boy's death, the Hopkins County Health Department issued a warning on social media to not eat any strawberries purchased at the school fundraisers in Hopkins County.
"Currently, the Department of Public Health Environmentalists are taking samples of the strawberries to the state lab for testing. Although this incident could be unrelated, the decision has been made to exercise caution and advise not eating any of these strawberries," the Hopkins County Health Department wrote.
In a follow-up post, the organization said that medical examiner Dr. Christopher Kiefer said the incident "looks like an isolated allergic reaction," noting, "He relates that this is a preliminary report, so we still advise not eating the strawberries currently."
