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Hepatitis of unknown origin: 348 cases identified by the World Health Organization

2022-05-11T07:54:54.826Z


They are concentrated in 20 countries at the moment. Thirteen others house 70 patients who are suspected of being carriers of the disease. For'


The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that it had identified 348 probable cases of hepatitis of unknown origin.

She favors the hypothesis of an adenovirus to explain this mysterious disease which mainly affects children.

An adenovirus generally only causes moderate health problems such as conjunctivitis, respiratory symptoms and/or digestive disorders.

According to the WHO, these cases of hepatitis of unexplained origin have been identified in 20 countries.

A total of 70 other suspected cases, identified in 13 countries, are awaiting confirmation by testing.

Only 6 countries have more than 5 cases, but the UK alone has reported 160 patients.

“Significant progress has been made in terms of further investigations and refining working hypotheses,” said Philippa Easterbrook, from the WHO Global Hepatitis Programme.

Read alsoAcute hepatitis in children: how scientists track down the origin of these mysterious cases

The UK coordinated a set of studies looking at affected children's genes, immune response, viruses and other epidemiological studies.

The country initially notified the WHO on April 5 of 10 cases of severe hepatitis in Scotland, in children under the age of ten.

In the United States, health authorities said on Friday that they were investigating 109 similar cases, including 5 fatalities.

Three children also died in Indonesia.

"At present, the main hypotheses remain those involving the adenovirus, also taking into important consideration the role of Covid-19, either as a co-infection or as a prior infection," said Philippa Easterbrook.

Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E identified in no patient

Tests carried out last week confirmed that around 70% of cases were positive for adenovirus, subtype 41, normally associated with gastroenteritis.

Adenoviruses are usually spread through personal contact, respiratory droplets and surfaces.

The tests also showed that around 18% of the patients were positive for Covid-19.

“Next week, we will focus on serological tests for previous Covid exposures and infections,” says Philippa Easterbrook.

After the discovery of the first 169 cases, the WHO indicated that the viruses of hepatitis A, B, C, D and E were not detected in any of the patients.

Most of them presented with gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, or even jaundice.

Some cases have caused liver failure and required transplantation.

Source: leparis

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