[Global Web Report] Bloomberg reported that three children in Indonesia died of acute hepatitis of unknown cause last month, the Indonesian Ministry of Health announced on May 2.
That means the global death toll from unexplained acute hepatitis has risen to at least four, the report said.
The three children were hospitalized in Jakarta with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, severe diarrhea, fever, jaundice, convulsions and loss of consciousness, the Indonesian Ministry of Health said.
The department is conducting comprehensive testing to determine the cause and has issued a notice to strengthen nationwide surveillance for the disease, the report said.
According to a bulletin issued by the World Health Organization on April 23, at least 169 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology have been reported in children from the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Israel, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, France, Romania and Belgium. Cases appear.
Patients ranged in age from 1 month to 16 years, 17 patients required liver transplantation, and at least 1 patient died.
Bloomberg said that although the cause of childhood hepatitis has not been determined, investigators believe that this unknown cause of childhood hepatitis may be related to adenovirus.