On the 27th local time, WHO issued a disease notification. From April 5th to May 26th, 33 countries and regions have reported 650 suspected cases of unexplained acute hepatitis in children to WHO.
At least 38 of them required liver transplants, and there have been 9 deaths so far, the cause of which remains unknown.
Most of the cases were from countries in the WHO European Region, and 75.4% of cases were younger than 5 years old.
Compared with previous cases of unexplained childhood hepatitis, cases reported during this time have more severe clinical symptoms and a higher rate of acute liver failure, which WHO has assessed as a moderate global risk.
WHO noted that the relevant epidemiological, laboratory, histopathological and clinical information is currently limited and the actual number of cases may be underestimated in some cases.
This is partly due to the limited surveillance capacity available, where the source and mode of transmission of potential pathogens have not been identified, and thus the potential for further spread cannot be adequately assessed.
(Headquarters reporter Zhu He)