• Infectious Three cases of childhood hepatitis of unknown origin detected in Spain

  • Q&A The strange cases of childhood hepatitis that have been detected in Spain: symptoms and possible causes

Health authorities are investigating at least

74 cases of severe acute hepatitis in children

in the United Kingdom, the country in which the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) has detected a

greater number of cases of unknown origin

.

Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E viruses are the main causes of liver inflammation, although they have not been detected in any of the cases, which has led to the direct intervention of the Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

"We are working directly with public health officials in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and

are looking at a wide range of possible factors

that have led to hospitalization of children with hepatitis," said Meera Chan, clinical director of emerging infections at the UKHSA.

As of Wednesday, at least 49 cases of acute hepatitis in children had been detected

in England, 13 in Scotland and 12 in Northern Ireland

.

Most have been between the ages of two and five.

Some cases have caused liver failure and required hospitalization.

The ECDC warned that a "small number of those affected" - not specified - had to undergo liver transplantation.

Health authorities have urged British parents to be

vigilant for possible symptoms of hepatitis in children, but this has not conveyed a sense of alarm

and media coverage has so far been relatively limited.

One of the lines of research is that the disease in children under 10 years of age may be caused by adenoviruses, a group of viruses normally associated with respiratory diseases such as colds or pneumonia, and which can cause vomiting or diarrhea.

Adenoviruses appear to have been detected in several of the affected children in the respiratory or intestinal tracts.

According to the UKHSA,

no direct link has been established with Covid-19

(although some of the children had tested positive)

or with the vaccines, as none of them had been inoculated

.

Hepatitis is a rare disease in children and is usually detected by jaundice or yellowing of the skin and eyes, itching and pain in muscles and joints.

To avoid contagion,

frequent hand washing, the use of disposable handkerchiefs and the protection of the mouth when coughing

are recommended .

Will Irving, virologist and professor at the University of Nottingham, assured that

what is happening is "very unusual", given the virulence with which the disease is manifesting itself

in children.

"Viral hepatitis rarely becomes a clinical disease in childhood and is often much worse if contracted as an adult," he told the BBC.

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