The World Health Organization said on Saturday that at least one child death had been reported following an increase of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children, and that at least 169 cases had been reported in children in 12 countries.
The cases reported were in children aged from one month to 16 years, and 17 had required liver transplantation, it said. It gave no details of the death that it said had been reported, and did not say where it occurred.
Experts say the cases may be linked to a virus commonly associated with colds, but further research is ongoing.
“While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent,” WHO said, noting that the virus has been detected in at least 74 of the cases. At least 20 of the children tested positive for the coronavirus.
“CDC is aware of and working with the Alabama Department of Public Health to investigate nine cases of hepatitis in children — ranging in age from 1 to 6 years old — who also tested positive for adenovirus since October 2021,” Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement.
The report shows that the clinical manifestation of the confirmed case is acute hepatitis (liver inflammation) accompanied by a significant increase in liver enzymes. Many cases also reported gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, followed by severe acute hepatitis, elevated liver enzyme levels and jaundice. Most cases have no symptoms of fever.
The incubation period of adenovirus is generally 2-21 days, with an average of 3-8 days. The symptoms of adenovirus infection are very common. Unless they are experienced doctors, they are generally difficult to detect in the early stage and are often misdiagnosed as common cold or influenza. The most common symptom of adenovirus is a sudden high fever (above 39 ℃), which can be accompanied by upper respiratory tract symptoms such as cough, expectoration, sore throat and so on, but it is quite different from the symptoms of unknown hepatitis this time.
Experts pointed out that the most effective way to reduce the spread of adenovirus is to maintain good hand and respiratory hygiene and supervise young children to wash their hands thoroughly.
Post time: Apr-28-2022