Baby treated at UI Hospitals dies after return to Haiti

IOWA CITY - Surgery changed the outlook for a Haitian baby brought to the United States by an Iowa City couple, but it was a common disease that took the little girl's life at home.

Bedica Ermilus likely died of cholera after being returned to her family in Haiti, said Dr. Christopher Buresh, 36, an emergency physician at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics who made arrangements for the then 3-month-old girl's surgery at UI Children's Hospital in March.

“It's been really hard,” Buresh said last night. “We'll never really know what it was.”

Bedica became ill with a fever, vomiting and diarrhea just days after returning to Haiti.

Despite efforts of community health workers and her family, she died May 17 at nearly 5 months old.

Cholera, which causes diarrhea and dehydration, can spread by drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food.

The bacterial disease is rare in the United States, but an outbreak that started after Haiti's earthquake in 2010 saw an upsurge this spring.

“Babies are really susceptible to it,” Buresh said. “What's sad is the same day she died, I bet there were 500 or 1,000 other babies who died of the same thing.”

The disease would be easily treatable in the United States, he added.

Buresh said it is too soon to know if he would try to bring other patients to the United States from Haiti, but her death has made him more determined to provide safe water in Haiti, starting in St. Medard, where Bedica's family lives.

Bedica was born with anorectal malformation, a lower digestive tract birth defect that affects about one in 3,000 newborns.

Buresh has traveled on medical trips to Haiti dozens of times, but Bedica was the first patient he was able to bring to the United States for treatment. It was her only hope because of the 100 percent death rate for the procedure in Haitian hospitals.

The March 29 surgery was successful and Bedica gained nearly 3 pounds during her short stay in Iowa City.

Buresh's wife, Dr. Ginny Ryan, a UI Hospitals obstetrician-gynecologist, returned Bedica to her parents earlier this month, on Mother's Day.

“Bedica seemed happy to see them and they were happy to have her home,” Buresh said.

Community health workers and her parents were trained to take care of her and were given a simple treatment system to purify her water.

Buresh said with the vaccinations she had received, the couple thought Bedica would stay healthy in Haiti. Also, they wanted to comply as much as possible with requirements set by agencies in Haiti for her return there.

“We keep second-guessing,” he said. “What if we had kept her a little longer?”

A memorial service has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 320 E. College St., in Iowa City.

“She touched a lot of lives,” Buresh said. “It's a good idea to give everyone an opportunity to remember and to reflect and to grieve. We certainly feel much richer for having her here.”