NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – An 11-year-old Brooklyn boy died Tuesday in an apparent allergic reaction to the smell of fish.
Camron Jean-Pierre was pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital on Tuesday night, police said.
Emergency responders rushed to the boy's apartment on East 82nd Street in Canarsie shortly before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
When they arrived, the boy was barely breathing and he soon died of respiratory failure.
The boy's family says they were cooking fish all afternoon and that the boy quickly became sick, with face and joint swelling.
The family believes the boy died from an allergic reaction to the smell of fish.
A man who owns a restaurant down the block was shocked at the news. He said it's the first he's heard of someone dying from the odor of fish.
"He only smelled fish?" the man said. "That's a sad story. Never heard of that in my life."
Police are looking into whether the boy was on any medications or if he had any other medical issues that may have contributed to his death.
While allergies to fish and shellfish are certainly not uncommon, dying from the smell of cooked fish appears to be extremely rare, though the cloud of food proteins wafting in the air could lead to an allergic reaction.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, food hypersensitivity by inhalation can be life-threatening.
"The exposure can be trivial, as in mere smelling or being in the vicinity of the food," according to a report.
