A 14-year-old Brazilian boy who injected himself with a mixture of dead butterfly remains and water reportedly suffered in agony for a week before his death, with doctors suspecting an allergic reaction or infection.
Davi Nunes Moreira was hospitalized in Vitoria de Conquista, experiencing severe pain, vomiting, and difficulty walking after injecting the concoction into his leg, according to the Daily Mail.
Authorities are investigating whether his death was linked to a dangerous social media challenge.
Dr. Luiz Fernando D. Relvas, a specialist at Hospital Santa Marcelina, suggested that Moreira may have suffered from an embolism, infection, or allergic reaction.
“We don’t know how he prepared this mixture or the size of the fragments he managed to inject into the body,” Relvas said. “There may have been air left inside, which could lead to an embolism.”
An embolism, a blockage in a blood vessel, can cause sudden death.
The teen’s mysterious death is making headlines across Brazil, with speculation that toxins from the butterfly mix may have triggered septic shock, causing his body to shut down.
Local police are awaiting full post-mortem results to determine the cause of death but have not ruled out the possibility of a social media challenge playing a role.
“The autopsy results will help clarify the cause of death,” a Civil Police spokesman in Vitoria da Conquista said. “The investigation is designed to clear up what happened.”
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