Dengue vaccine can increase the severity of disease, PH study reveals

MANILA, Philippines. Several public health care workers, public health advocates, academics, and civic organizations are against the Department of Health’s (DOH) school-based anti-dengue vaccination campaign, a program which aims to vaccinate one million nine-year-old Grade 4 pupils using the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia manufactured by pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur.

In a Facebook post, Dr. Antonio Dans, a professor at the University of the Philippines Manila College of Medicine, revealed the shocking results of a Philippine study (Hadinegoro, NEJM, 2015). Based on the findings of the recent study, more cases of severe dengue were observed among children who received the vaccine compared to those who received placebos.

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Dr. Dans added that the said table was only shown in the supplementary appendix and was not discussed in the body of the research paper.

In a report by Interaksyon, Dr. Dans also revealed that Sanofi Pasteur was concerned about a potential problem in the vaccines. Although dengue vaccines could decrease the number of cases of dengue initially, it could potentially increase the severity of the disease for individuals who get it.

Sanofi Pasteur and the DOH, according to Dr. Dans, are aware of the possibility that there may be an increase in cases of dengue two years after the vaccination program is implemented.

“The real dengue we are afraid of is severe dengue, not the mild ones. If a vaccine prevents mild disease but causes severe dengue, we shouldn’t be using it at all,” Dr. Dans explained.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not provided a final recommendation on the use of the vaccine.