In an update on the first of its kind
immunization program with the newly approved dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia,
Philippines health officials (DOH) provided the following update Monday.
The
Dengue School-Based Immunization program that commenced on Apr. 4 continues on
and at the three week mark, a total of 204, 397 (73%) pupils were vaccinated
out of 279,393 pupils with parents’ consent.
As of
April 24, 2016 a total of 362 cases of Adverse Event Following Immunization
(AEFI) from the three regions where the Dengue School Based Immunization
Program were received. The top five common reactions were fever, headache,
dizziness, vomiting, and rash. The DOH established a strict monitoring and
surveillance system for adverse events and side effects following immunization.
There has
been a lot of coverage on the fatality of an 11-year-old boy who was vaccinated
on Mar. 31. The DOH offered the
following details and explanation of the case:
The
patient is claimed to have been diagnosed to have congenital heart disease
during his childhood. No maintenance medication was taken since his transfer to
his current guardians. During
immunization of dengue vaccine, the patient was screened and assessed by the
RHU physician at the school. When asked the guardian (uncle) denied history of
fever, illness, and maintenance medication during assessment.
On April
3, 2016 patient developed diarrhea and fever, he was seen and examined the next
day at the Bagac Community Medicare Hospital and was diagnosed to have
amoebiasis. Patient was sent home with medications. On April 9, the patient was
seen and admitted at the Isaac Catalina Medical Center after experiencing
difficulty of breathing, fever, and cough. He was initially diagnosed with
pneumonia, severe; congenital heart disease in Congestive Heart Failure, and
electrolyte imbalance. April 10, the patient was referred and transferred to
Bataan General Hospital. April 11, patient had a cardiac arrest and was
eventually pronounced dead. The immediate cause of death was pulmonary edema
with the following underlying causes: congenital heart disease, Acute
Gastroenteritis with moderate dehydration.
The case
was presented to the National Adverse Event Following Immunization Committee
(NAEFIC) last April 21, 2016 to assess the findings. Their conclusion is
consistent with the hospital findings. The dengue vaccination is coincidental.
According to NAEFIC, congenital heart disease is not an exclusion criterion for
vaccination.
The
Philippines reported more than 200,000 dengue cases last year and nearly 600
deaths. As of April 9, 2016, a total of 33, 658 suspected dengue cases were
reported nationwide. The Philippines has the highest incidence of dengue and
ranks number 1 in the Western Pacific Region from 2013 to 2015.
