8-year-old Kentucky boy passes away after eating strawberries from a school fundraiser

The authorities in Kentucky are investigating after an eight-year-old boy died after consuming strawberries from a school fundraiser, according to Fox News Digital. The report did not mention if the child had a pre-existing allergy to the fruit or not.

The Madisonville Police Department said officers were called to the boy's home around 6:30 a.m. on Friday after he was having trouble breathing and was unresponsive. The boy's parents said that he had eaten "several strawberries from a high school fundraiser the night before."

The young boy reportedly experienced symptoms the night he ate the strawberries, and his parents gave him Benadryl and soaked him in a bath, according to the report. But after his symptoms continued to get worse, he was taken to a local emergency room around 10:30 p.m. The family eventually brought the boy back home hours later.

On Friday morning, the family tried to wake the boy up for school but he was unresponsive. After detectives were informed about an issue with the strawberries, they discovered that the emergency room had seen others who had allegedly eaten strawberries from the same function, according to WKYT.

Following the discovery, the Hopkins County Health Department warned the community to not eat any strawberries purchased at the school fundraiser in Hopkins County.

The boy's identity has not been released, and an autopsy is still pending. However, the medical examiner's preliminary findings indicated that the cause of death "looks like an isolated allergic reaction," according to a statement made by the health department on Friday.

Despite the suggestion that it is an isolated event, the authorities have advised people to stay away from eating strawberries in the area. Reports noted that the strawberries in question were given out as part of a fundraiser for Madisonville North Hopkins High School and Hopkins County Central High School athletics.

The strawberries were reportedly grown at Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms and were subsequently distributed by Juicy Fruit LLC. While there were no alerts about possible contamination of the fruits grown there, the Department of Public Health Environmentalists are taking samples to take to the state lab for testing.

It is currently unclear if anyone else who consumed the strawberries had a severe allergic reaction. It is also unclear if those who went to the emergency room after eating the strawberries experienced the same symptoms as the eight-year-old who passed away.

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