5-year-old migrant boy who got sick at a temporary Chicago shelter died from sepsis, autopsy shows

CHICAGO (AP) — An autopsy shows the cause of death for a 5-year-old Venezuelan boy who died in December after becoming ill at a temporary shelter for migrants in Chicago was sepsis and a bacterial infection that causes strep throat. The autopsy released Friday by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office showed Jean Carlos Martinez died Dec. 17 as a result of sepsis due to streptococcus pyogenes group A infection, which can cause strep throat and other life-threatening illnesses. Contributing factors included COVID-19 and rhinovirus. The city has said the boy was a resident at a warehouse retrofitted as a shelter. The boy’s death revived concerns about conditions at shelters.