DOH confirms 14 dengue shock deaths, but stops short of blaming Dengvaxia
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III admitted yesterday that dengue shock syndrome has caused the demise of the majority of the 14 Dengvaxia-vaccinated students, but clarified that such deaths cannot be linked to the dengue vaccine just yet.
In a press conference at the
Parang Elementary School in Marikina City, the school where the ceremonial dengue vaccination was held in April, 2016, Duque said clinical charts and clinical records of the 14 deceased individuals have shown that most of them succumbed to Dengue Shock Syndrome.
“Sa ngayon, PAO [Public Attorney’s Office] muna ang nag-e-exhume ng katawan ng mga namatay ng mga pumanaw dahilan sa Dengue Shock Syndrome…. Ito naman ay malinaw sa mga clinical charts at clinical records na talaga namang Dengue Shock Syndrome ang kanilang ikinamatay (For now, only the PAO is exhuming the bodies of the individuals who died due to Dengue Shock Syndrome…. It is clearly shown in the clinical charts at clinical records that they died because of Dengue Shock Syndrome),” he said.
“Ang Dengue Shock Syndrome, ito po ang Grade Four classification, according to the World Health Organization, na kinikilala sa buong mundo. Number one, mayron pong severe plasma leakage, ito po iyong parte ng dugo na nauunang lumabas mula sa blood vessels. Susunod po nito, mismong dugo na ang mawawala, severe massive bleeding. Tapos naaapektuhan po ang utak, nagkakaroon po ng pagdurugo riyan. Nagkakaroon po ng pulmonya sa respiratory, sa lungs, nagkakaroon ng maraming tubig na naiipon sa kanyang pulmon. Iyong puso, inflammation of heart. Mayron din po naaapektuhan ang atay, lumulobo po ang atay at mayroon din pong hemorrhage doon. Iyon pong bato or kidneys ay naapektuhan din po at hindi na nakakaihi. Iyon pong mga iba’t ibang organs ay naaapektuhan, multi-organ involvement. Siyempre kapag nawala ang dugo, pumapanaw ang isang may Dengue Shock Syndrome (Dengue Shock Syndrome is a Grade Four classification, according to the World Health Organization, which is recognized around the world. Number one, there is severe plasma leakage, this is the part of the blood that is first to come out of the blood vessels. This will be followed by severe massive bleeding. Then the brain will be affected and will eventually bleed. It also causes pneumonia, and inflammation of the heart. Sometimes, it also affects the liver, kidneys, and other organs; multi-organ involvement. Of course, if he does not have blood anymore, the patient with Dengue Shock Syndrome will die),” he explained.
On November 29, 2017, Sanofi Pasteur announced a “new finding” on its vaccine Dengvaxia, which was used in the government's mass immunization program involving around 830,000 children.
“The analysis confirmed that Dengvaxia provides persistent protective benefit against dengue fever in those who had prior infection .... For those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection,” Sanofi said in a previous statement.
The 14 deceased children were included in the government’s vaccination drive which began in April 2016 and was put on hold in December 2017.
Duque, on the other hand, clarified yesterday that such deaths cannot still be linked to Dengvaxia yet.
“Hindi natin kayang sagutin iyan sa kasalukuyan kasi patuloy na pinagaaral po ito ng mga dalubhasa (We cannot answer that right now because experts are still doing their investigation),” he said.
Moreover, he maintained that the recently formed expert panel from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) is still analyzing the case records that were forwarded to it.
He noted that they have yet to find out the effects of the “co-morbidities” to the patients.
“Hindi ko kasi nadala iyong listahan ko. Parang ang tingin ko, doon sa 14 ay karamihan doon mukhang dengue shock syndrome naman. Pero may mga iba rin na may kaakibat na mga sakit so kailangan tingnan din ito (I was not able to bring my list but, as far as I remember, most of the 14 patients died due to Dengue Shock Syndrome. But there were some who also had other illnesses aside from Dengue Shock Syndrome, so we also have to look at it),” he stated.