One of Canada’s largest children’s hospitals has reported seven cases of severe acute hepatitis identified in recent months that may be part of an unexplained outbreak affecting young people in many countries, CBC News has learned.
It is not yet clear how many cases have been reported in Canada or whether any of the cases being investigated at Toronto Children’s Hospital – also known as SickKids – have been linked to mysterious cases of serious liver disease among children in the United Kingdom. Israel and elsewhere.
A SickKids spokesman provided the calculations in an email, saying the hospital was “closely monitoring” all cases of severe acute hepatitis and had reported seven cases to Ontario Public Health that met the “probable case definition.”
These cases were established between October 1, 2021 and April 30, 2022.
“It remains to be seen whether this number represents an increase in cases of unknown origin compared to similar periods in previous years, or if any of these cases will be confirmed to be caused by a new clinical site,” said SickKids spokesman Jesamin Luck. .
100+ cases reported in the US
The Canadian Public Health Agency has not yet provided details on how many cases are being investigated across Canada to determine if they are related to unexplained cases of hepatitis elsewhere.
However, other countries are announcing an increasing number of potentially related cases, with hundreds of investigations being conducted worldwide to determine the root cause of unexplained liver problems among young people.
On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 109 cases in various parts of the country were under investigation to establish any possible links. Fourteen percent of these children needed a liver transplant, and five died of the disease.
Hepatitis – which refers to inflammation of the liver – is rare in children. It is usually caused by a family of hepatitis viruses, but can also be caused by alcohol use, exposure to toxins or other pathogens.
Cases identified by health professionals around the world in recent months do not appear to have any of these common causes.
Instead, researchers are investigating other theories, including links to adenovirus infections or SARS-COV-2, the virus behind COVID-19.
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