Vancouver Island child hospitalized after eating poisonous hemlock on school grounds
A nine-year-old girl was hospitalized overnight after chewing and swallowing part of a poisonous hemlock plant on the grounds of a Langford, B.C., school.
The Sooke school district and the girl’s mom say the incident happened Feb. 28 during after-school care at Crystal View Elementary when kids were playing outside near a dormant garden.
“Our staff, in conjunction with the third-party providers of after-school care, immediately intervened and made sure that student was safe and then got them medical attention as soon as possible to make sure that ultimately that student would not be in any kind of danger,” says district superintendent Paul Block.
Danielle, who doesn’t want to use her last name to protect the identity of her child, says the girl thought she was biting parsley.
“It’s so unassuming,” she says. “I don’t blame (the school). It’s just bad luck.”
Poison hemlock is a non-native invasive plant, originally from Europe, that can be found in locations across Canada.
“It’s primarily found around streams, ditches, forest edges and fields,” says Dr. Nick Wong of the Invasive Species Council of BC.
The council says the plant is covered with distinct purple spots with triangular fern-like leaves and small white flowers in an umbrella cluster at the end of the stem. It says they have a long, fleshy root similar to a carrot.
“All parts of the plant contain toxic compounds to livestock and wildlife and people, so ingestion is the real deadly part and even small amounts can be quite dangerous,” according to Wong.
Danielle’s daughter was lucky. The mom says her daughter was instructed to drink lots of water and was treated in hospital using active charcoal. She says the child was kept overnight for observation due to stomach cramping. She was back to school within 48 hours.
“I want everybody to know it’s a problem on the South Island so we can do our best to educate our kids,” says Danielle.
The school district says it has a pest-management program that includes the removal of invasive and poisonous plant species.
“Typically when we have invasive species like this, particularly hemlock, they’re usually around the periphery of our school grounds,” says Block.
The district superintendent says staff are aware of poison hemlock sprouting at six school sites – including École Poirier Elementary, Journey Middle School, Centre Mountain Lellum Middle School, Dunsmuir Middle School, and Belmont Secondary.
“In [the case of Crystal View Elementary] they were unfortunately in gardens that we weren’t aware of,” says Block.
He says staff have since removed the hemlock plants from the garden and are replacing the soil in hopes of preventing it from sprouting again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
PWHL Minnesota defeats Boston to win inaugural Walter Cup
Minnesota won the inaugural championship of the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Wednesday night, getting 17 saves from Nicole Hensley to beat Boston 3-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 and claim the Walter Cup.
Canadians are eyeing moves to these cities for more affordable housing
Faced with elevated housing prices, half of Canadians in the country's largest cities are considering moving to places with more affordable housing.
B.C. mortgage broker ran $270-million Ponzi scheme, then fled Canada, bankruptcy trustee says
The trustee appointed to manage the bankruptcies of a Victoria mortgage company and its owner has concluded that they committed "numerous offences" and operated as a "massive Ponzi scheme."
Edmonton Oilers set to make lineup changes for Game 4 of Western Conference final
The Edmonton Oilers are shaking things up. Down 2-1 in the NHL's Western Conference final to the Dallas Stars, head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed there would be lineup changes for tonight's Game 4.
McDonald's says $18 Big Mac meal was an 'exception' and their prices haven't risen that much
McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases.
'Targeted again': Montreal police investigate after gunshot fired at Jewish school
Police are investigating another building in Montreal's community was struck by gunfire.
Tessa Virtue reveals she's expecting her first child. Here's what Canadians had to say
Canadian figure-skating icon Tessa Virtue is expecting her first child, she revealed via social media Tuesday.
Poilievre says Canadians 'fleeing' to Nicaragua, Liberals say it shows he 'doesn't have a clue'
Liberal parliamentarians are criticizing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over a new video in which he promotes the idea that some Canadians are 'fleeing' Canada to live in Nicaragua because they can't afford a house in this country.
'Do not drive': Nissan warns Canadian drivers of explosion risk impacting 48,000 vehicles
Car manufacturer Nissan has issued a do-not-drive warning for some older vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators, due to the risk of explosion during a crash.