Ten European countries have so far reported cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children, the director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, said on Tuesday.
»The total number of known cases is fluid. The figures are not always very precise, because there are verifications to be made. Currently we are at around 190 cases worldwide, of which 40 are in the EU/EEA” (i.e. the 27 + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), she said, during a press conference on the occasion of the launch of the “European Vaccination Week”.
Outside Europe, Israel and the United States have also recently reported such cases, after the United Kingdom first raised the alarm in early April.
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Among the children affected, “several experienced acute liver failure which required liver transplantation”, added the official, noting that “WHO and ECDC, as well as the countries concerned, continue to examine the possible causes, the factors which could play, but the exact cause of these infantile hepatitises declaring itself at healthy subjects remains unknown for the moment”.
“The usual hepatitis A to E are excluded, and no connection between cases or association with travel has been detected. On the other hand, the research is looking at a possible link with an adenovirus infection,” confirmed the ECDC.
The most common clinical sign, among the cases identified, was jaundice, “followed by vomiting, gastrointestinal symptoms”, which is “compatible with an adenovirus”, specified Andrea Ammon.
Any hypothesis of a link with the Covid-19 pandemic remains “speculation” for the moment, assured the director of the ECDC, “even if one can imagine that the slightest exposure of children to viruses during confinements could be a factor.
The ECDC has provided a case definition to help countries monitor the emergence of these unusual forms of hepatitis, and is due to release a “rapid risk assessment” on Thursday that will outline what is known so far.
With MAP