Filipino health experts developing dengue test kit

A TEST kit to know if someone has been infected by the dengue virus or not is being developed by a pool of Filipino experts from the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the University of the Philippines.

The test kit is based on a protocol made by the University of as basis for its November 29 global announcement last year.

The global announcement said Dengvaxia must only be administered to patients who have known histories of dengue infections.

The anti-NS1 antibody test kit being developed will allow doctors to check if a patient has a history of dengue infections or if someone inoculated with Dengvaxia but who happens to be seronegative has developed such antigens.

Antigens, such as NS1, are toxins that induce the body’s natural defenses against bacterial or virus attacks.

When a patient is infected by dengue, his body, reacts producing

Dr. Edsel Salvana, pediatric infectious disease expert from UP, said he and other concerned doctors are pooling their resources to develop the test kit, which is available only in First World countries such as Singapore.

The test kit, Salvana added, will help medical workers and doctors determine immediately if a patient has no dengue virus infection or has a history of dengue.

“We need to keep a close eye on the kids who got Dengvaxia. We need to quickly determine serostatus among the Dengvaxia recipients, especially those with dengue-like symptoms, [so that they would] know what to expect,” he said.

Salvana added that he met with Dr. Scott Halstead, an 87-year-old American expert in dengue, who testified before the Senate blue ribbon committee recently.

He said he fully agrees with - pism and neurotropism are “theoretical risks” and have never been observed in real life for dengvaxia.

“He [ Halstead] was more straightforward in calling it utter nonsense as the causative agent of all these so-called dengue deaths,” the NIH expert added.

Halstead’s testimony destroyed allegations made by Dr. Susie Mer that children whose remains were exhumed died after being inoculated with Dengvaxia.

While not blaming the Public parents to exhume their dead child and look for traces or evidence linking Dengvaxia to their deaths, Salvana agreed with Halstead that autopsies alone cannot prove that the deaths are linked to Dengvaxia.

“Autopsies alone are useless for from Dengvaxia. For dengue, you need corroborating nucleic acid and antigen tests and tissue samples.”

Despite pleas from doctors and experts, the PAO’s self-appointed forensic expert Dr. Edwin Erfe continues to conduct autopsies on dead children throughout the country.

Erfe refuses to acknowledge Halstead’s admonition, causing - tors in the country.

The controversy linking Dengvaxia to the deaths of some children among the 830,000 kids inoculated during the DoH’s public vaccination program has caused tremendous anxiety and panic among Filipino parents.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the surrounding controversy has affected the DoH’s vaccination program.

Recently, dengue outbreaks in Cavite have alarmed health authorities, who noted the proximity of the province to Metro Manila.