Police in Kentucky are investigating after an 8-year-old boy died after eating strawberries collected at a school fundraiser.
According to the Madisonville Police Department, 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 Thursday that he “ate several strawberries that he had bought at a high school fundraiser the night before.”
On Thursday, the boy started feeling symptoms and his parents gave him Benadryl and soaked him in the bath.
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strawberry (Friso Gentsch/Photo in partnership with Getty Images)
As his symptoms continued to worsen, his family took him to a local emergency room around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, but they took him home several hours later.
Police said his family called authorities Friday morning when they tried to wake him up to go to school but found him unresponsive.
The health department warned area residents not to eat strawberries sold to the Madisonville North Hopkins High School and Hopkins County Central High School athletic fields. (Google Maps)
After the boy’s death, the Hopkins County Health Department announced that a preliminary autopsy report concluded the boy had an “isolated allergic reaction.”
“Coroner Dr. Christopher Keefer stated that the strawberry incident appears to be an isolated allergic reaction,” said Dennis Beach, director of the Hopkins County Health Department. “As this is a preliminary report, we recommend not eating strawberries at this time.”
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Authorities have not said whether the boy had a pre-existing allergy to strawberries.
Strawberries harvested at KHM Strawberry & Jam Farm in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. (Samsul Saeed/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The department warned area residents not to eat strawberries sold to the athletic fields at Madisonville North Hopkins High School and Hopkins County Central High School.
According to the health department, 443 apartments have been distributed in North and 535 in Central. The strawberries were sold by Juicy Fruit LLC, Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms.
“Environmental experts from the Department of Public Health are currently transporting strawberry samples to the state laboratory for testing,” the Ministry of Health said.
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The boy’s identity has not been released.
FOX News has reached out to Juicy Fruit LLC, Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms for comment.
