Since April 15
The UK has reported 74 cases of unexplained acute hepatitis in children
As of April 21
At least 169 cases of unexplained childhood acute hepatitis have been reported in 11 countries in Europe and 1 country in the Americas
April 25
The first case of unexplained acute hepatitis in a child in Japan and the first reported in Asia
April 26
More than 190 cases have been reported from more than a dozen countries
All cases ranged in age from 1 month to 16 years
Seventeen children (about 10 percent) needed a liver transplant and at least one died
Seeing the 4 words "for unknown reasons" again, there is no one whose heart does not mention the throat eye. After all, 3 years ago, the new crown broke into our lives with "pneumonia of unknown cause"...
At present, there is still a lot of uncertainty, although we have not reported cases in China, but as parents, what we can do is to understand the disease as much as possible and take more precautions in special periods!
As soon as the news came out, everyone inevitably fried pans and all kinds of speculation inducements.
In general, viruses, bacteria, drugs, toxins, and autoimmune states can cause hepatitis.
Under the epidemic, the new crown virus has naturally become a "reasonable suspect".
However, the answers currently given by WHO and relevant agencies are:
*Not related to COVID-19 vaccination at this time
WHO said that because the vast majority of sick children have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, it is not considered that their acute hepatitis is not a side effect of the NEW CROWN vaccine.
*Whether it is a secondary disease of COVID-19 is currently uncertain
Not a vaccine, that's the COVID-19 virus?
This possibility is not ruled out, and it is true that the new crown virus has been detected in some sick people.
But for now, the possibility of the new crown virus is far less than the adenovirus, and we look down
*77% of tested cases were positive for adenovirus
5 of the 13 Scottish children published by Europe Surveillance tested positive for adenovirus, and officials from the Alabama Department of Public Health in the United States also confirmed in interviews that 5 of the 9 sick children in the local area were positive for adenovirus-41.
Meanwhile, DATA from the UK Health Security Agency shows that 77% of cases test positive for adenovirus.
Of course, these data can not be completely determined that the adenovirus is at work, in the newly discovered Japanese cases, the adenovirus has not been detected, but also for the search for triggers again increased the difficulty.
In any case, adenovirus is definitely the focus of suspicion at the moment.
The University of Science and Technology has specifically talked about "adenovirus pneumonia" before, and the severe disease rate is high, which is also frightening.
So how did the adenovirus cause acute hepatitis this time?
In fact, adenoviruses are relatively common. Adenovirus populations are generally susceptible, with 4% to 10% of children with viral respiratory infections (such as the common cold) caused by adenoviruses.
The source of adenovirus infection is infected people (including asymptomatic invisible infected people), and the transmission route is mainly transmitted by droplets, but also through contact transmission such as handshakes, public towels, door handles, toys, etc., as well as eating contaminated food, water and other digestive tract transmission.
Note that adenovirus as we know it generally only acts on respiratory infections, but that doesn't mean it doesn't invade elsewhere.
The respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, urethra and bladder, eyes, liver, etc. can be infected by adenovirus.
Typical symptoms are:
However, severe acute hepatitis does not generally occur.
For this acute hepatitis, some people speculate that the toxicity increased after the mutation of adenovirus, which may be related to the new crown or may be an environmental factor;
Some experts also pointed out that if this is a routinely circulating adenovirus strain, but it has a more serious impact on immunocompromised children, it may be the result of children staying at home during the new crown pandemic.
For some time, children who did not go out at home had little contact with pathogens and wore masks when they went out. At this stage, the epidemic prevention in some countries such as the United Kingdom has gradually relaxed, children have resumed classes, increased going out, and for a time immunity has not kept up with the rhythm of activities, increasing the possibility of infection with the virus.
So this also gives us a wake-up call and strengthens the child's immunity!
Even if you go out at home, you must let your children move as much as possible, and if you can't move indoors, don't be paralyzed, holding mobile phones and computers. (Of course, when exercising, you should also pay attention to the feelings of your downstairs neighbors!) ）
No matter when and in the face of what kind of disease threat, eating well and sleeping well, regular work and rest, balanced nutrition, moderate exercise, are all necessary.
In this special period, we parents can not relax is to observe whether the child has abnormalities!
According to the symptoms of existing cases, the main ones are:
Diarrhea, abdominal pain
Vomiting, nausea, and not wanting to eat
Discoloration of urine or stool
Usually accompanied by jaundice (yellowish skin and white eyeball)
Fatigue, pain in the liver area
When brushing teeth, the gums bleed and there are bruises and ecchymosis on the body
Itchy skin
Liver enzymes are significantly elevated
Most children do not have symptoms of fever
Children who carry the five common hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E are not high-risk groups, and none of the reported cases have been detected.
Some experts said that at present, the incidence of this acute hepatitis in China is relatively low, and effective prevention should maintain good hand and respiratory hygiene.
Now the cause of this disease is unknown, and we can only follow the precautions of adenovirus and new coronavirus.
Try not to touch public facilities directly, and urge your baby to wash his hands carefully after contact;
After going out and doing nucleic acid testing, rinse your mouth in time;
The room is more ventilated to avoid poor air circulation (in case it is spread through the aerosol, blowing it away is not negotiable);
When summer comes, clean and ventilate before using air conditioning to avoid bacteria and viruses blowing into the room;
Pay attention to dietary hygiene, try not to buy commercially available cold dishes, cold skins and other cooked food, do not eat raw, cold, unprocessed seafood, crayfish and other foods. Do not eat fruits that are too greasy, too salty and spicy, and too moldy and rotten.
Although there are many unknowns now, parents and friends, we can do as much as possible, maintain a good attitude, and remember that "immunity is the best special medicine", to ensure that children's nutrition is balanced and moderate exercise.
HKUST will continue to pay attention to "hepatitis of unknown cause", you can also ask me at any time if you have any questions, we must overcome the difficulties together, we must pay attention to prevention!!!