CDC, prosecutors in joint probes into boy's death

“We respect judicial authorities and are willing to cooperate with prosecutors,” said CDC Deputy Director-General Shih Wen-yi.

His remarks came after the boy's father, a physician, challenged a forensic report that attributed his son's death to a blood disorder — hemophagocytic syndrome — that was triggered by the B19 parvovirus.

The report also concluded that a link between the boy's death and H1N1 vaccine produced by Taiwan's Adimmune Corp. could not be proved.

The father issued a statement earlier Friday in which he raised doubts about the report because his son did not show major symptoms of hemophagocytic syndrome, except for fever.

In the statement released by Taichung City Councilor Chang Yao-chung, the father, identified only by his family name Liu, expressed the hope that autopsy samples could be sent abroad for further pathological examinations.

The Taichung Prosecutors Office said the prosecutors in charge of the case will study the feasibility and necessity of Liu's request.

“If the presiding prosecutors find that a further examination is necessary, the request may be accepted, “ said Hsu Hsi-hsiang, a senior prosecutor at the Taichung office.

According to the autopsy report issued Wednesday, the B19 parvovirus has not been found in the H1N1 vaccine after cultivation, leading prosecutors to conclude that there was no direct link between Liu's death and the vaccine.

Prosecutors said they will further investigate alleged dereliction of duty by doctors involved in the case.

CDC official Wang Jen-Hsien said the B19 virus, the main cause of children's rash, is commonly seen in pediatric medicine. Macrophages, a type of white blood cell, usually ingest the B19 virus to protect the human body.

If there is something wrong in the immune transformation, however, the macrophages will attack blood vessels, which describes hemophagocytic syndrome.

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