- Mysterious hepatitis spreading in Europe and the United States has killed at least one child, the WHO said.
- Health experts are still unsure what is causing the inflammation in the liver, but believe the adenovirus may work.
- Common symptoms of the disease include diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting.
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A mysterious hepatitis epidemic in Europe and the United States has killed at least one child.
On Saturday, the World Health Organization said “at least one death has been reported” among 169 cases of hepatitis the agency has identified since early April.
So far, this liver inflammation has affected at least 11 European countries and two US states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Insider in an email that this first reported death was not a case in the United States, but said the agency had received “additional reports” on cases from other U.S. jurisdictions since its advice came out late. last week, and she appreciates them.
It is not yet clear what exactly causes this hepatitis, but disease detectives around the world suspect that a virus called adenovirus 41 may be the cause of this liver inflammation in children. At least 17 of the patients aged 1 month to 16 years have so far needed liver transplants.
The outbreak is strange because hepatitis caused by adenovirus 41 does not usually infect healthy young children. The WHO said the adenovirus infection was a “possible hypothesis” for these cases of hepatitis, but that “investigations are underway into the cause.” Adenovirus has been identified in at least 74 of the cases, and at least 19 of the children have been co-infected with coronavirus and adenovirus, the WHO said.
To date, at least 169 cases have been reported and 17 of them require a liver transplant. World Health Organization
So far, in addition to 11 cases in the United States, more than 150 cases have been reported in Europe, including:
- 114 in the United Kingdom
- 13 in Spain
- 12 in Israel
- 6 in Denmark
- less than 5 in Ireland
- 4 in the Netherlands
- 4 in Italy
- 2 in Norway
- 2 in France
- 1 in Romania
- and 1 in Belgium.
The United Kingdom, where most cases have been reported so far, has recently seen an increase in adenovirus infections in the community, as has the Netherlands.
Common symptoms of this problem include abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Adenovirus 41 spreads – like COVID-19 – through close contact.
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