THE Public Attorney’s Office said Saturday it had discovered what it believed to be the first Dengvaxia-related death in Eastern Visayas.
PAO Forensic Chief Erwin Erfe said the results of the examinations on the exhumed remains of nine-year-old Wiljen Alcontin revealed bleeding in her brain, heart and kidneys.
He said that pattern was similar to those seen in the autopsies on children who allegedly died after receiving the Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine.
Erfe made his statement even as Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Sunday former President Benigno Aquino III and former Budget secretary Florencio Abad were among the resource persons expected to attend the House hearing on the Dengvaxia controversy today, Monday, at 9:30 a.m.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Interior Department OIC Eduardo Año, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda Acosta, and former Health secretary Janet Garin had also been called to the hearing, Pimentel said.
Representatives of Sanofi S.A., the manufacturer of Dengvaxia, and Zuellig Pharma Holdings Pte., distributor of the anti-dengue vaccine, had also been asked to attend the hearing along with officials from various divisions, bureaus and services of the Department of Health, Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines College of Medicine, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.
Alcontin’s death certificate indicated tuberculosis, meningitis and sepsis secondary to pneumonia as the cause of death.
Wiljen and her identical twin Wincel reportedly received the Dengvaxia vaccine in August 2017. She died five months later while Wincel became sick but eventually recovered.
“She was strong and not sickly. She was intelligent but suddenly….” Wiljen’s mother Teresa recalled.
She agreed to exhume the body for another autopsy after she was contacted by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.
Erfe said further testing would be needed.
“We will get tissue samples for laboratory examination. Her heart and kidneys indicated bleeding,” he said.
The Public Attorney’s Office has since conducted autopsies on 26 children, who were said to have died after receiving Dengvaxia, as part of a case buildup against the officials who approved the use of the vaccine.
Former Health secretary Esperanza Cabral earlier this month accused the office of causing public panic by sensationalizing the Dengvaxia vaccine controversy.