Police in Kentucky are investigating the death of an 8-year-old boy after eating strawberries from a school fundraiser.
The Madisonville Police Department said officers were called to a home around 6:30 a.m. Friday for an 8-year-old boy who was having trouble breathing and was unresponsive.
His parents told authorities that on Thursday he “had eaten several strawberries from a high school fundraiser the night before.”
On Thursday, the boy began experiencing symptoms and his parents gave him benadryl and immersed him in a bath.
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strawberries (Friso Gentsch/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
After his symptoms continued to worsen, his family took him to a local emergency room around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, but brought him back home hours later.
Police said the family called authorities after they tried to wake him up for school Friday morning, but found him unconscious.
The health department warned the community not to eat the strawberries we sold at Madisonville North Hopkins High School and Hopkins County Central High School. (Google Maps)
After the boy's death, the Hopkins County Health Department said a preliminary autopsy report ruled it an “isolated allergic reaction.”
“Dr. Christopher Kiefer, medical examiner, said the incident involving strawberries appears to be an isolated allergic reaction,” said Denise Beach, director of the Hopkins County Health Department. “He relates that this is a preliminary report, so we still recommend not eating strawberries for the time being.”
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Authorities did not say whether the child had pre-existing allergies to strawberries.
Strawberries harvested at the KHM Strawberry and Jam farm in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. (Samsul Said/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The department warned the community not to eat the strawberries we sold at Madisonville North Hopkins High School and Hopkins County Central High School.
The health department said there were 443 departments distributed across North and 535 departments distributed across Central. The strawberries were distributed by Juicy Fruit LLC, Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms.
“Currently, Department of Public Health environmentalists are taking samples of the strawberries to the state laboratory for testing,” the health department said.
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The boy's identity has not been revealed.
Fox News has reached out to Juicy Fruit LLC, Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms for comment.
