Outbreak of childhood hepatitis, what are the risks?
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(CNN Spanish) --
The Puerto Rico Department of Health reported on Friday that they are keeping a pediatric patient under investigation for a case of acute hepatitis of unknown origin.
Through a press release, the government agency indicated that "the person under investigation is a child under five years of age and is receiving medical care in a hospital on the island."
CDC investigates more than 100 cases of unexplained hepatitis in children, including 5 deaths
It was also reported that the case has been notified to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for meeting similar criteria to the more than 200 minors who have been reported affected with this ailment around the world.
The Puerto Rico Department of Health called on health providers on the island to notify the Office of Epidemiology if they identify any patient with these criteria.
Even if you are a patient age 16 or younger.
On April 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert on this type of hepatitis.
As of May 1, the WHO had confirmed 228 cases in 20 countries and another 50 are under investigation.
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According to the WHO website, most cases of this acute childhood hepatitis of unknown origin have been reported in Europe, especially the United Kingdom, but there have also been reports in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and South Asia.
The origin of the disease remains a mystery.
The first ten cases of this acute hepatitis were reported by the United Kingdom to the WHO on April 5, and involved children under the age of ten with no previous ailments.
As of April 8, 74 cases had already been identified in the UK.
And, since then, cases have also been detected in countries such as Spain, Israel, Denmark, Italy, the United States, Indonesia and Belgium, among others.
This hepatitis causes jaundice, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
The age of those affected ranges from one month to 16 years.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO, most cases do not present fever.
The viruses usually associated with these ailments (hepatitis A, B, C, D and E) have not been detected in any of them.
The WHO indicated in its report of April 23 that a tenth of the children affected until then had needed a liver transplant after contracting this new disease and that at least four of these cases have been fatal (three in Indonesia).
hepatitis