TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – In the UK, 163 cases acute hepatitis The mystery man has now been identified and 11 children have received liver transplants. Cases have been detected in 20 countries worldwide with nearly 300 children affected.
British health officials say they still don’t know what causes the increase in liver inflammation or hepatitis in children. A common adenovirus is thought to play a role but other possibilities are still being investigated.
“It is important for parents to know that the chances of their children getting acute hepatitis are very low,” said Dr. Meera Chand of the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA).
He said parents should stay alert for signs, especially jaundice, a yellow tinge in the whites of the eyes, and should call a doctor if concerned. Since last week, another 18 children in the UK with mysterious acute hepatitis has been identified. The victims lived 118 in England, 22 in Scotland, 13 in Wales and 10 in Northern Ireland.
The most common symptoms are jaundice and vomiting, and most are under 5 years of age. The UKHSA’s latest report on cases says there has been some noticeable reduction in confirmed cases in the last two weeks overall in the UK.
What baffles scientists is that the most likely culprit, adenovirus, usually doesn’t make children seriously unwell. Transmitted from person to person through coughing and sneezing can cause runny nose, vomiting, and diarrhea. However, it is highly unusual for adenovirus to cause acute hepatitis in otherwise healthy children but has become more common since the beginning of the year after almost disappearing during the pandemic.
Genetic analysis of samples from some children has found a strain of the virus called AAV-2 but usually doesn’t cause disease either, the report said. Scientists are also keeping an eye on another type of adenovirus, called F41.
“Our investigations continue to show there is an association with adenovirus and our current study is rigorously testing this association,” Chand said. “We are also investigating other contributors.”
These include whether a new variant of the adenovirus has developed that makes the pain worse or whether a previous infection, such as Covid-19, could be a factor. Another possibility is a pandemic, delaying the exposure of young children to a number of different viruses because reduced social interaction may have made them more susceptible to falling ill.
Health officials are also exploring whether there may be a link to the dogs. A number of affected families said they owned dogs or had contact with them. But UKHSA also admits having a pet dog is common in the UK. UKHSA said there was no evidence of a link between acute hepatitis and the Covid-19 vaccine.
Read also: IDAI Calls Handwashing One of the Prevention of Acute Hepatitis
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