‘Requests mount’ for probe on deaths being linked to Dengvaxia

Militant women’s group Gabriela launches the “Dengvaxia Hotline” that will receive calls from concerned parents of more than 800,000 children who had been injected with the controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia. The hotline will be open to callers daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. INQUIRER FILE / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

More and more parents are asking the Public Attoryney’s Office (PAO) to examine the bodies of their children who died after receiving the Dengvaxia vaccine, an official of the agency said Wednesday.

Dr. Erwin Erfe, director of the PAO Forensic Laboratory, said that they were receiving requests almost every day from bereaved family members seeking an autopsy of their dead children.

“Halos araw-araw po ay may nagrerequest na magpaexamine po ng mga anak nilang namatay,” Erfe told radio dzMM.

He said they already examined the bodies of four children and were set to examine two more on Wednesday.

According to Erfe, a pattern was already emerging among the children who died after receiving Dengvaxia, which was supposed to prevent dengue.

The findings include internal bleeding, enlargement of the organs and death within six months after receiving the vaccine, Erfe said.

He also noted the rapid progression of an illness and death of the children, citing the case of an 11-year-old boy who died within 24 hours last Dec. 27, 2017, after showing the first symptoms of getting sick. /cbb

Read: Rapid death seen among children who got Dengvaxia — expert

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/958918/breakingnews-dengvaxia-dengue-pao-forensic-erwin-erfe-severe-dengue
Faye Orellana

INQUIRER.net