A preliminary autopsy on a boy who died several weeks after being vaccinated against the A(H1N1) virus concluded that a pathological activation of blood clotting mechanisms — called disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) — caused his death.
Taichung District Prosecutors made the conclusion public on Saturday.
“DIC caused bleeding in the brain stem, resulting in the boy’s death,” the office said, adding that the final results of the autopsy would only be known after further study of the boy’s immune system tissues.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said he respected the judiciary’s conclusion.
Asked about the connection between DIC and the flu vaccine, Shih said that for now, he could only say that the possibility of the vaccine causing DIC is “very, very low.”
The seven-year-old from central Taiwan died on Dec. 21, several weeks after being vaccinated. His father, a physician, blamed the vaccine for the death.
The highly publicized case spread concern over the safety of the vaccine and frustrated the progress of the government’s national immunization program, which began on Nov. 1 amid a worldwide outbreak.
The drive has also slowed in part because of worries over the safety of the vaccine by local pharmaceutical firm Adimmune Corp. The Department of Health responded by allowing people to choose between the Adimmune vaccine one produced by Switzerland-based Novartis.
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