African refugee, 8, dies of E. coli infection at O’Hare

An 8-year-old African refugee died of an E. coli infection Tuesday after landing at O’Hare International Airport.

David Dieme was with his family at O’Hare about 4:30 p.m. after arriving in the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

After clearing their paperwork with customs, the family was being escorted to their next flight when David became unresponsive, according to a statement from CBP.

The airport’s emergency medical services responded to Federal Inspection Services within minutes, and David was taken to Resurrection Medical Center, where he died at 6:25 p.m., authorities said.

An autopsy found the cause of death to be E. coli and inflammation of intestines. His death was due to natural causes, according to the medical examiner’s office.