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Autopsy Reveals Guatemalan Migrant Boy Deceased in US Custody Had Influenza

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Autopsy results have revealed that the eight-year-old Guatemalan boy, who deceased earlier in the week at a US detention centre for irregular migrants, had influenza, The University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center said in a statement.
Sputnik

"The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator has performed an autopsy on Felipe Gomez-Alonzo. Results of nasal and lung swabs have tested positive for influenza B," the statement read.

The centre specified that further investigation was needed to determine the precise cause of Gomez Alonzo's death.

"While this result indicates that the child had influenza, determining an accurate cause of death requires further evaluation of other laboratory specimens and interpreting the findings in the context of the symptoms and autopsy findings," the statement added.

READ MORE: Trump Administration Is Sacrificing The Safety of Migrant Children

The centre went on to say that this investigation should not be "rushed," stressing the need to ensure "thorough observations and accurate conclusions."

Second Migrant Child Dies at US-Mexico Border
On 25 December, the US Customs and Border Protection said that the second migrant child died after being apprehended over an illegal entry attempt in the United States over the past month, adding that the official cause of the child's death was yet to be established.

This comes almost a month after a seven-year-old Guatemalan girl died two days after she was apprehended together with her father for illegal entry into the United States as part of a group of 163 undocumented immigrants. The US authorities said that the girl had not eaten food and drunk water for several days. According to human rights activists, the girl died from a septic shock, fever heat, and dehydration.

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