Pathologists offer help in probe on Dengvaxia

The Philippine Society of Pathologists (PSP), cognizant of the current events related to the Dengue vaccine, is prepared and willing to help alleviate the fear and hysteria created by some sectors of the society.

PSP President Bernadette R. Espiritu issued the statement following reports that the credentials of the forensic consultant of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), who erred in his autopsy findings on children vaccinated with Dengvaxia, is a sham.

Being a charter member of the Philippine Medical Association, PSP is the recognized professional medical association that is duly mandated to train and certify physicians in the field of Pathology as a medical specialty.

Espiritu said that at present, the PSP recognizes only two Filipino physicians who have successfully hurdled the stringent trainings and are qualified in the medical subspecialty of forensic pathology.

“For the record, the Philippine Society of Pathologists does not discount the capabilities of other physicians conducting autopsies without being trained, qualified and certified as Diplomate or Fellow in Anatomic or in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. It must be emphasized, however, that the medical profession as a field of science, adheres to certain standards and best practices, which are validated and ensured by medical societies of the PMA in their respective fields of medical specialization,” said Espiritu in a statement sent to The FREEMAN.

She said that any misstep in the process is prone to yield incorrect or misleading diagnosis, which is a mortal mistake especially in diagnosis of a patient, much less in determining the true cause of death.

“Those children who received Dengvaxia vaccination numbering about 800,000 or more, including their families and friends, are now engulfed by the unimaginable scare that death is almost an inevitable consequence that is to come upon the vaccine-recipients, who never had dengue before, as generated by the muchpublicized autopsy findings from the supposed forensic experts,” Espiritu said.

She also said that to these helpless Filipino countrymen, their lives have practically come to a halt until they find certain solution or assurance that their Dengvaxia vaccinated children will not suffer the same fate as those who were autopsied by those who claim to be forensics expert.

“This is not a battle of who is the best specialty group, and this should be a concerted effort for all Filipino medical professionals all across the different medical specialties under the Philippine Medical Association. Ever mindful of its duty to help advance the medical welfare of the Filipinos, the Philippine Society of Pathologists is committed to support the PMA and the Department of Health in their efforts to reach out to the Dengvaxia vaccinerecipient children and their families, and to help alleviate their currently obtaining condition from the Dengvaxia scare,” added Espiritu.

In a separate statement of the Doctors for Truth, it said that perceptions that Dr. Erwin Erfe, who linked the deaths of 14 children to Dengvaxia, is a bogus forensic expert are even bolstered by reports that he has questionable credentials.

A fact check made on Erfe's credentials showed several intriguing results. Erfe got his credentials from the organizations and "companies" created by a certain Dr. Robert Louis O' Block.

It said that a multitude of forensic experts in the country are now asking how credible are the works of Erfe given such information on the persons from whom he earned his titles in forensics.

“Hindi po kayang matutunan ang autopsy sa pagattend ng lecture at pag attend ng workshop maski na magattend ka ng workshop ng isang taon. When we lecture on autopsies we usually stress on the traumatic finding on traumatic deaths from gunshot wounds, but we rarely deal with medical deaths,” according to Dr. Maria Cecilia Lim.

Lim is an expert forensic pathologist and one of the group of doctors who did the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UPPGH) study on the deaths allegedly linked with the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.