The cases of acute hepatitis in children, detected in 12 countries, mainly in Europe, raise questions and also fear of a new epidemic. However, the origin of this severe hepatitis remains unknown.
It all started in the UK, which has the most notifications (114). Then cases were uncovered in Spain (13); in Denmark (six); in Ireland (less than five); in the Netherlands (four); in Italy (four); in France (two); in Norway (two); in Romania (one) and Belgium (one), according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Outside Europe, Israel (12 cases) and the United States (at least nine) join the list.
Affected children range in age from 1 month to 16 years. Most are under ten years old none had other illnesses. There was one death.
“Investigations in countries where there are cases continue. So far, the current cause of hepatitis is unknown,” according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
At the moment, an infectious cause seems the most likely, but no general link to contaminated or toxic food has been established that could be identified.
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver in response to a virus, toxins (poisons, drugs, etc.), or to autoimmune or genetic disorders. Its development is usually benign and its main symptoms fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain disappear quickly or leave few consequences. Sometimes, less often, they can cause kidney failure.
But “the increasing number of children affected by sudden hepatitis is unusual and worrying,” Zania Stamakati, from the Center for Research on the Liver and Gastrointestinal System at the University of Birmingham, told Britain’s Science Media Centre.
Among the possible clues, the adenovirus was detected in at least 74 children, 18 of whom were of the socalled “Type 41”.
Several countries, including Ireland and the Netherlands, have reported increasing prevalence of these adenoviruses. However, its role in causing the mysterious hepatitis is unclear.
The possibility of a connection with the still circulating Covid19 is also one of the hypotheses. The corona virus was detected in 20 of the children. Another 19 showed coinfection of Covid and adenovirus.
“However, if this hepatitis is caused by Covid19, it would be very surprising that they weren’t much more numerous given the high prevalence of SarsCov2,” Graham Cooke, an infectious disease specialist at Imperial College London, tells Science Media Center.