More than 1,000 probable cases of unknown severe acute hepatitis have been detected in children and as many as 22 have died since the disease was discovered in on April 5, the World Health Organisation has said “As of 8 July 2022, 35 countries in five WHO Regions have reported 1010 probable cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in children, which fulfill the WHO case definition, including 22 deaths. Since the previous Disease Outbreak News published on 24 June 2022, 90 new probable cases and four additional deaths have been reported to WHO,” the UN health agency said in its update on Wednesday. “Additionally, two new countries, Luxembourg and Costa Rica, have reported probable cases.”
Out of those five regions, almost half, i.e., 48 per cent of the probable cases have been reported from the European countries, in which 21 countries have registered 484 cases, the WHO said. Of those, UK and Northern Ireland combined have found 272 cases.
The second highest number of probable cases have been reported from the American continent, including 334 cases from the United States of America, followed by the Western Pacific Region (70 cases), the South-East Asia region (19) and the Eastern Mediterranean region (2).
Seventeen countries are reporting more than five probable cases, with the WHO suspecting it to be a case of undercounting due to limited enhanced surveillance systems.
“The actual number of cases may be underestimated, in part due to the limited enhanced surveillance systems in place. The case count is expected to change as more information and verified data become available,” the agency said.
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It said that it is closely monitoring the unexplained spread of hepatitis in previously healthy children, of which almost dozens are in need of life-saving liver transplants.
While analysing the laboratory tests, WHO said that hepatitis A to E had not been present in the affected children. Other pathogens such as the coronavirus were detected in a number of cases, but the data is incomplete, the UN health agency said.
Adenoviruses – which cause a wide range of illnesses, such as colds, fever, sore throats and pneumonia – have been “the most frequently detected pathogen” in cases of paediatric hepatitis, WHO said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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