A 14-year-old Brazilian boy died after he allegedly injected himself with butterfly remains. The Bahia police are currently investigating the case and its possible links with an online challenge. According to reports, Davi Nunes Moreira began vomiting and developed a limp before being taken to a hospital in Planalto.
Initially, he did not disclose the cause and instead told his father that he hurt himself while playing. As his condition worsened, he eventually confessed that he had injected butterfly remains in his right leg, The New York Post reported.
He was transferred to another hospital in Vitoria da Conquista, the third-largest city in the state of Bahia but succumbed to his injuries.
Mr Moreira’s father discovered the syringe his son had used hidden under the boy’s pillow.
The type of butterfly the teenager inserted into his body has not been identified by officials. It is said that the milkweed, which monarch butterflies feed on as caterpillars, contains a poisonous toxin.
Marcelo Duarte, a butterfly specialist and the director of Sao Paulo University’s Zoology Museum, said, “Butterflies have a complex biology, and the fluids present in their bodies have not been studied in depth in terms of their toxicity to humans.”
His death is suspected to be caused by toxins in the butterfly remains, leading to septic shock.
A spokesman for the Civil Police in Vitoria da Conquista, leading the investigation into Mr Moreira’s case, said the autopsy results would provide clarity on the cause of death.
This was not the first time a viral challenge went wrong. In a similar incident last year, social media influencer Thammy MC, who has 2 million followers, suffered first- and second-degree burns after participating in a viral ice challenge.
The challenge involved submerging her feet in a mixture of ice and coarse salt for 15 minutes. She experienced excruciating pain upon removing her feet from the ice. Doctors later informed her that prolonged exposure could have led to thrombosis or even necrosis (tissue death).