A 9-month-old Hauula boy who was taken into state custody in August died less than three weeks later of natural causes from complications from a common virus that kills infants in Hawaii every year.

The family of Jayvid Waa-Ili still wants to know who was caring for him and why he was taken to the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where he died Aug. 26.

"He wasn’t sick when we last saw him," said Waa-Ili’s paternal grandfather, David Deal of Hauula.

The Honolulu medical examiner has ruled that Waa-Ili’s death was caused by respiratory failure due to complications of bronchiolitis.

The condition is caused by a common viral infection that frequently is fatal in infants, said Dr. Marian Melish, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases and pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine.

"It’s not rare," Melish said. "There are probably several fatalities every year in Hawaii due to bronchiolitis, almost entirely among infants."

The two viruses that can lead to bronchiolitis — the respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus — are "extremely common and circulate among people all the time," Melish said. "In older people they tend to cause a respiratory infection that doesn’t look too severe. Everybody gets these viruses multiple times in their lives."

The medical examiner’s autopsy results answer the question of what killed Waa-Ili. But the Deals’ attorney, Michael Green, said he cannot get any information from Honolulu police or the Department of Human Services about what happened to Waa-Ili after he was taken from his great-aunt’s home in Hauula on Aug. 10, how he ended up on the other side of the island at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and who brought the baby to the hospital.

"We’re not getting anything yet but we will," Green said.

Pat McManaman, director of the state Department of Human Services, said in a statement that DHS is offering counseling and other services to Waa-Ili’s family as it continues to grieve.

Since the 2000 fiscal year, 29 children have died in state custody, including Waa-Ili.

"As we do in each case involving the death of a child in our custody, the DHS has convened a child protective review panel," McManaman said in a statement. "The child protective review panel is a collaborative process that brings together experts from multiple disciplines to share and discuss comprehensive information surrounding the circumstances of a child’s death. In examining the entire spectrum of circumstances surrounding each death, the review panel will ultimately report its findings.

"At this point in time, the department of the Medical Examiner for the City and County of Honolulu has not released an official report on Jayvid’s death. DHS respects the privacy of families and will continue to abide by the state’s confidentiality laws which permit disclosure of a child’s private DHS records only under limited circumstances.

"Presently, DHS has no reason to believe that Jayvid’s death was the result of abuse or neglect. Should we receive information confirming that abuse or neglect was the cause of death, DHS will notify the public as required by law."

Annabel Murray does not believe DHS should release Waa-Ili’s records to the public, but said his family is entitled to much more information.

Murray used to represent foster children and now practices family law with a focus on child custody evaluations and mediation through the Children’s Law Center.

"Everybody deserves a time line of their child’s last week and last month," she said. "Who knew he was sick? How did he get sick? Those answers would give his family some satisfaction and comfort."

Murray hopes that McManaman makes good on her promise to convene a child protective review of Waa-Ili’s case.

"You’ve got a new head of the system, and hopefully she follows through with what she said and she can give the parents and grandparents some resolution," Murray said. "If she follows through, that’s good — as long as it’s not going to be in three years."

State Rep. Kymberly Marcos Pine (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point), as a member of the House Human Services Committee, questioned McManaman in September about DHS’ confidentiality policies following Waa-Ili’s death.

On Thursday Pine said, "I want the process to go through the way that she (McManaman) is suggesting, and it sounds like they’re taking it very seriously. Whenever a child dies, we should always be willing to re-evaluate whether the system is working. There might be something we’re missing."

Bronchiolitis is caused by an inflammation or infection of the lung’s narrow bronchiole air passages and can be severe and fatal in infants, Melish said.

Children with bronchiolitis might or might not have a fever, she said, and often produce a whistling or wheezing sound when they breathe.

The usual treatment calls for putting babies on a ventilator and suctioning out mucus so they can breathe easier, Melish said.