Student who died of severe dengue received Dengvaxia

An 11-year-old student received Dengvaxia some five months before he died of severe dengue, according to a report by Marisol Abdurahman on "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho" on Thursday.

The Public Attorneys Office (PAO) put under forensics examination the remains of AJ Bautista, who died on Wednesday after suffering intense head and throat pain with high fever since Friday.

His sister Ashley is currently confined at the hospital with the same symptoms but has yet to be diagnosed.

Both were received the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia in August.

Their father, Almer, blamed the vaccine for his children contracting  severe dengue despite manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur, the Department of Health, and World Health Organization emphasizing that Dengvaxia by itself does not cause severe dengue.

Forensic consultant Dr. Erwin Efre insisted that there was a pattern in the deaths of the children exhumed and studied by the PAO forensics lab.

He said every child received Dengvaia in the past six to eight months and had internal bleeding with enlarged internal organs, both symptoms of severe dengue.

"Hindi ko alam kung ilan ang kailangan nilang mamatay muna, at ilan ang ma-confirm dun sa nakita naming pattern, bago nila i-acknowledge na namamatay ang bata because of this Dengvaxia vaccination," Efre said.

Bautista's case is the 11th patient the PAO autopsied for its investigation on the Dengvaxia issue.

PAO plans to file criminal, civil and administrative charges in February in relation to the immunization program.

The agency pointed out that almost 300 families with children who took part in the program expressed willingness to press charges.

"Buo na rin ang mga facts, buo na rin ang mga documentation. 'Wag po mainip, sapagkat kung sino man po ang talagang dapat panagutin dito ang pananagutin," PAO Chief Atty. Persida Acosta said in the report.

Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC) spokesperson Dr. Sonia Gonzalez said claims must be substantiated to ensure that the deaths truly have links with Dengvaxia.

"Like in any sciences naman, kailangan ito ay ma-substantiate ng talagang evidences and further tests to say na talagang there was a connection o may association yung bakuna doon sa na-obserbahan nila," she said.

About 14 of more than 400 patients admitted to the PCMC from January 3 to January 19 who received Dengvaxia were confirmed to have dengue.

Some 26 out of the 839,000 individuals who received Dengvaxia died in the past year. It is still unknown how many died from dengue infection because the study of the health department on the matter has yet been concluded.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III advised, "Hindi pwedeng magpadalos-dalos tayo dito because remember, this is the first time in the history of the Philippine health sector that we had something like this." — Rie Takumi/BAP, GMA News