WHO: 230 cases of mysterious hepatitis
The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that it continues to receive dozens of reports of children infected with acute hepatitis, the cause of which has not yet been determined, estimated at 230 worldwide.
The organization's spokesman, Tarik Yasarevich, said during a regular press conference for the United Nations agencies based in Geneva, that more than 50 other cases are still under investigation.
He added that "reports of these cases were received from four of the six regional offices of the World Health Organization."
The cause of these severe liver infections is not yet known.
The majority of these cases were recorded in Europe, and the first was in Britain.
On 5 April, the World Health Organization reported 10 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in children under the age of 10 in central Scotland.
On April 8, the number of cases recorded in the whole of Britain reached 74.
This hepatitis mainly affects children under the age of ten, and its symptoms include jaundice, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
A number of cases required a liver transplant.
And at least one of the children who contracted it died.
The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization indicated that none of the viruses that usually cause acute hepatitis C (A to E) were detected in any of the cases.
Last week, the US health authorities suggested, based on analyzes of recorded infections, that an adenovirus was behind these mysterious cases, but they did not, however, confirm that it was the confirmed cause.
Adenoviruses, which are common, usually cause respiratory symptoms, conjunctivitis, or even digestive disorders.
Adenovirus infection is transmitted through the mouth or the respiratory system, and epidemic peaks usually occur in winter and spring, and often in collective environments, such as nurseries, schools and others, and the majority of people are infected before their fifth birthday.
However, the role of these viruses in the emergence of mysterious hepatitis is not yet clear.
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