The WHO already identifies 169 sick minors and one death from severe hepatitis of unknown origin

The World Health Organization (WHO) already has news of 169 cases of minors affected by acute hepatitis of unknown origin in 12 countries, most of them located in Europe.

These are children between one month and 16 years old;

in seventeen cases (approximately 10% of the total) a liver transplant had to be performed and in one the patient died.

The WHO is investigating what is happening and acknowledges that "it is not yet clear whether there has been an increase in hepatitis cases or an increase in awareness of hepatitis cases occurring at the expected rate but not being detected."

The WHO has admitted that one of the hypotheses focuses on the origin being due to an adenovirus (which has been detected in at least 74 cases).

But he adds through a statement: “although the adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are being carried out to determine the causal agent.”

Adenovirus is a very common pathogen that almost always causes mild or very mild respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms.

The United Kingdom was the first country to notify the increase in cases of hepatitis of unknown origin on April 15 and has already recorded 114 patients.

The second country that accumulates the most cases so far, according to information released on Saturday by the WHO, is Spain, with 13, followed by Israel (12), the United States (9), Denmark (6) and Ireland (5).

In identified cases it is an acute hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) with markedly elevated liver enzymes, explains the WHO.

Many cases reported gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting that preceded presentation with severe acute hepatitis and elevated liver enzyme levels.

“Most of the cases did not have a fever,” explains the WHO.

The origin is unknown because "the common viruses that cause acute viral hepatitis" have not been detected in any of the cases.

All eyes are turning to adenovirus because the UK, where most cases have been reported so far, has recently seen a significant increase in adenovirus infections in children.

The health authorities of the Netherlands have reported something similar, says the WHO.

But this agency does not rule out that this increase in the detection of adenoviruses is due to an improvement in laboratory tests to detect this infection.

"While adenovirus is currently a hypothesis as the underlying cause, it does not fully explain the severity of the clinical picture," explains the WHO.

The first suspicions pointed to the fact that the cause could be a sequel to covid – the coronavirus was identified in several of those affected – and also to the adenovirus.

A toxic origin or that it was an unknown virus was not ruled out either.

No child had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, so this possibility was ruled out from the outset.