PAO expert appeals to hospitals as Dengvaxia probe continues

PAO forensic expert Dr. Erwin Erfe (second from right) performs an autopsy on a child who died a few months after receiving the Dengvaxia vaccine. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

A forensic expert appealed to hospitals on Thursday to accept the request of families to examine the bodies of their children despite of financial problems.

Dr. Erwin Erfe, director of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Forensic Laboratory called on the hospitals after they received reports that there were rejected cases for body examination.

“Gusto namin manawagan na sana po ay tanggapin nila yung mga pasyente para ma-examine at matingnan po agad dahil ang nakikita po kasi naming pattern is mabilis po yung pagkamatay ng mga biktima,” Erfe said in an interview with dzMM.

According to Erfe, there were cases of family members who were rejected by the hospital due to financial problems.

“Ang nagiging problema daw po kasi nila ay yung ibang kaso ay nire-refuse daw ng hospital dahil walang pera,” he said.

The PAO forensic team has examined a total of five bodies that received the Dengvaxia vaccine. All five suffered from internal bleeding, the common pattern of seen by Erfe.

“The same pattern po, the same findings po,” he said. /cbb