A suspected case of acute hepatitis in children of unknown cause, which is spreading mainly in Europe and the UK, was reported for the first time in Korea.
The Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters (Bangdaebon) announced today (10th) that through the monitoring system, one suspected case of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in children was reported on the 1st.
Acute hepatitis of unknown cause in children was first reported in the UK on the 4th of last month, and there have been 237 cases in 19 countries around the world until the 4th.
It spread mainly in Europe, including 145 in the UK, 17 in Italy, 13 in Spain, 6 in Denmark and 4 in the Netherlands, and 18 cases were confirmed in the United States.
In Asia, 1 case was reported in Japan, 3 cases in Indonesia and 1 case in Singapore.
A total of four people have died, three of them in Indonesia.
Most of the patients are between 1 and 16 years old, and it is known that most of them show gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting, followed by severe acute hepatitis, a surge in liver enzyme levels, and jaundice.
This acute hepatitis is acute hepatitis, not the conventional viral hepatitis classified as type A to E.
Since this month, the quarantine authorities have been operating a monitoring system to report if liver function levels such as AST and ALT exceed 500 IU/L among children and adolescents under the age of 16 who visited the hospital for acute hepatitis.
The link between this acute hepatitis and the COVID-19 virus is still controversial.
As a result of a gene amplification (PCR) test with respiratory specimens from patients reported in Korea, adenovirus, which mainly causes respiratory diseases in children, and Corona 19 virus were detected together.
Sang-won Bang, head of the Epidemiological Investigation and Analysis Team, said at a briefing today, "It is not a common occurrence, but a rare reported case. virus," he explained.
Director Lee continued, "It doesn't seem to have a high correlation with COVID-19," he added.