Saturday, March 30, 2019

Autopsy: Migrant child who died in US custody had infection

          Autopsy: Migrant child who died in US custody had infection         


The 7-year-old migrant girl from Guatemala who died while detained by the US Border Patrol succumbed to a bacterial infection, according to an autopsy released Friday.
Jakelin Caal Maquin died on Dec. 8, a day after she and her father crossed the US border into a remote part of New Mexico in a group of 163 migrants.
She was the second child to die in Border Patrol custody in December, which sparked questions about the agency’s ability to deal with migrant families.
When they were apprehended by Border Patrol at about 9:15 p.m., her father signed an English-language form saying the girl was in good health, but it’s not known if he understood the paper.
The autopsy report, which was submitted by the El Paso, Texas, medical examiner, said Jakelin had streptococcus bacteria in her lungs, adrenal gland, liver and spleen.
It added that she faced a “rapidly progressive infection” that led to sepsis and the failure of multiple organs.
The medical examiner determined her death was natural and caused by “sequelae of streptococcal sepsis,” according to the report.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement in December that she died of “sepsis shock” but added that Border Patrol agents who detained her saw “no evidence of health issues.”

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