Health Times reporter Tan Qixin Zhao Yuanzhi
On April 15, local time, WHO issued a notice saying that the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Ireland recently reported cases of hepatitis of unknown etiology found in children. As of now, the causes of this hepatitis are unclear.
According to the report, as of 8 April, the number of such cases reported across the UK has risen to 74, mainly in children under 10 years of age, with the main symptoms including jaundice, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain, some patients are in severe condition, and 6 children have received liver transplants. It is worth noting that the cases of infection were previously healthy children.
The image comes from the official website of the World Health Organization.
In addition, there have been cases of unexplained hepatitis infection in children in Spain, Ireland and the United States. Among them, the U.S. health department has found 9 cases of hepatitis similar to this, all in Alabama, the patient is between the ages of 1 and 6 years old, and 2 children are in severe condition and need liver transplantation.
WHO reports that THE virus or adenovirus has been detected in some case samples, but the role of these viruses in the pathogenesis of hepatitis cases in children is unclear.
"Adenovirus may be the cause of this infection, but investigations are ongoing and other, more common causes of hepatitis infection cannot be completely ruled out." CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund noted in a statement released on April 14.
According to the results of the study published in the Journal of Practical Liver by the Institute of Infectious Diseases of the Southwest Hospital of the Third Military Medical University of Chongqing, the proportion of patients with unexplained hepatitis in patients with abnormal liver function accounts for about 12.2%. The etiology and pathogenesis of unexplained hepatitis are currently unclear, but viral infection is an important part of the possible causes of unexplained hepatitis.
Zhu Jiye, director of the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery of Peking University People's Hospital, told reporters that "hepatitis of unknown cause" refers to the disease that has liver inflammation clinically, but cannot be clearly diagnosed by conventional methods, in general, to determine preventive measures, it is necessary to first clarify its specific transmission route, such as hepatitis A is mainly transmitted through the "digestive tract", so the prevention of hepatitis A should pay attention to eating hygiene; hepatitis B is mainly transmitted through blood, cutting off the transmission route is one of the main means to prevent hepatitis B.
Are children on the mainland at risk of infection? "At present, children in the mainland have immunization programs for hepatitis B and hepatitis A, and the incidence of hepatitis in children is very low in China, as for hepatitis of unknown cause, I have not heard of this situation in China at present, but as long as it is an infectious disease, routine means such as washing hands frequently and paying attention to cleanliness and hygiene are still effective for preventing infection." An expert from Qingdao Municipal Disease Control, who did not want to be named, told reporters.
The WHO said in the communiqué that it predicts more cases of this hepatitis in the future before the pathogen is clear, calling on all parties to "identify, investigate and report potential cases that meet the definition of cases".
