ENGLAND – The experts at English believe that they have identified the cause of a series of disease problems mysterious hepatitis what happened recently that attacked children small around the world.
Investigations show two common viruses resurfaced after the pandemic lockdown ended – and triggered rare but very serious cases of hepatitis.
More than 1,000 children – many under the age of five – in 35 countries are estimated to be affected. Some, including 12 people in the UK, needed liver transplants to save lives.
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The two research teams, from London and Glasgow, said babies were exposed more slowly because of Covid restrictions. Some of these exposed infants lose initial immunity to adenovirus, which usually causes colds and upset stomachs, and adeno-associated virus two, which usually doesn’t cause disease and requires a coinfected “helper” virus – such as adenovirus – to replicate.
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That could explain why some develop unusual and worrying liver complications.
One such case is Noah, 3, who lives in Chelmsford, Essex. He needed an urgent liver transplant after suffering from a dangerous hepatitis.
His mother, Rebecca Cameron-McIntosh, said the experience was devastating to her life.
“He previously had no problem with it,” he said, quoted by the BBC.
“And suddenly going so fast. I think that’s what surprised us.”
“We just assumed it was one small problem that would be easy to solve – but actually it just keeps rolling,” he said.
Initially, Rebecca was asked to donate part of her liver – but, after a serious reaction to the drugs used, she ended up in intensive care.
Noah was put on the transplant register and, soon after, received a new organ.
Her recovery is good – but she will need to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of her life, to stop her body from rejecting the new liver.
“There’s something really heartbreaking about that because you follow the rules, do what you’re supposed to do to protect vulnerable people and then, in a horrible twist, your own child becomes more vulnerable because you do what you’re supposed to do.” .
Cases like this are rare. Most children who are exposed to this type of virus recover quickly.
It’s not clear why some later develop liver inflammation – but genetics may play a role.
Scientists have ruled out any connection to the coronavirus or the Covid vaccine.
One of the researchers, Prof Judith Breuer, a virologist, at University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital, said during the lockdown period when children were not socializing, they were not transmitting the virus to each other.
“They don’t build up immunity to the common infections they normally encounter.”
“When restrictions are lifted, children start to mix, the virus starts to circulate freely – and they are suddenly exposed to a previous lack of immunity to a new set of infections.”
Experts hope that cases are now fewer but are still on the lookout for new ones.
Prof Emma Thomson, who led the University of Glasgow research, said many questions remained unanswered.
“Larger studies are urgently needed to investigate the role of AAV2 in pediatric hepatitis cases,” he said.
“We also need to understand more about the seasonal circulation of AAV2, a virus that is not routinely monitored – perhaps the peak of adenovirus infection coincides with the peak of AAV2 exposure, leading to unusual hepatitis manifestations in susceptible young children,” he added.
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