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As of 23 April, a cumulative total of 12 countries have reported at least 169 cases of childhood cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin.
According to WHO, adenovirus was detected in 74 cases. Of these, 20 were infected with the new crown virus and 19 were infected with both the new crown virus and the adenovirus.
1 person has died and 10 people need liver transplants
According to the China News Network quoted Reuters as reported, WHO said on the 23rd local time that with the increase in cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin among children, 1 child has been reported to have died.
Screenshot of the Reuters report
According to statistics, a total of 12 countries have reported at least 169 cases of children, of which 114 occurred in the United Kingdom, of which 10 required liver transplantation.
As of 21 April, countries reporting cases include the United States, Spain, Israel, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, France, Romania and Belgium, in addition to the United Kingdom.
According to the latest CCTV news, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued a message on April 25 that the first case of children in Japan who may have this acute hepatitis has also appeared.
A new virus has emerged?
It is understood that many of the reported case symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting, most cases have no febrile symptoms, and all reported cases have not detected the five common hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E.
On the 25th local time, the British Health Security Agency said that more and more evidence shows that a common virus is related to rare cases of hepatitis that have occurred in some young children recently. The UK's Health Security Agency said an adenovirus called F41 appeared to be the most likely cause of the disease.
Mila Chand, director of the UK's Clinical and Infectious Diseases Specialty, said information gathered through surveys by relevant departments increasingly suggested that the increase in sudden hepatitis in children was linked to adenovirus infection.
It is worth mentioning that the European Surveillance article under the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention believes that even if the cause of the disease is adenovirus infection, it may be related to the new crown pandemic, because many young children have not been exposed to many common viruses due to long-term isolation during the epidemic. When masks are removed and social distancing measures are lifted, they become more vulnerable to infections from the outside world.
WHO: It has nothing to do with COVID-19 vaccination
WHO said adenovirus was detected in 74 cases. Of these, 20 were infected with the new crown virus and 19 were infected with both the new crown virus and the adenovirus. The situation is being closely monitored and is being worked with relevant authorities such as UK health authorities.
WHO says that since the vast majority of patients have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, it can be assumed that they have hepatitis at this time and are not a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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 the Health Times reporter.
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".
Experts in Europe and the United States pointed out that although mild hepatitis in children is quite common, the situation is significantly different this time, and some patients in the UK are in serious condition, and some even need liver transplants. Experts say adenovirus rarely causes severe hepatitis in healthy people. It is very rare for this to occur in children who do not have serious underlying health problems.
Source丨CCTV News, China News Network, Health Times, Surging News
Image source 丨 Visual China, CCTV news video screenshot
Editor 丨Sun Rui