Particularly affected by the rise in cases of this mysterious infantile hepatitis, the United Kingdom has launched several studies to understand the origin of the disease.
It is the British health agency which has published a new point on cases of acute hepatitis which particularly affects children aged 10 and under.
British authorities are seeking to unravel the mystery of this disease which affects the liver and which has already affected 163 boys and girls in the country, most of them under the age of 5. 11 of them had to undergo a liver transplant.
Many experts are working with the British health security agency to try to see more clearly about the origins of the disease. The viruses that usually cause this hepatitis have not been detected in recently affected children. Other tracks are, little by little, ruled out. The Covid does not seem to be linked even if some children had been infected shortly before. None of the affected children had been vaccinated against Covid. The latter is therefore excluded from the probable causes.
The experts then look at the environment of the children. And the UKHSA report says a “relatively high number of families own dogs or have contact with dogs”. In total, three quarters of the children affected are concerned.
A possible link with the presence of dogs in the home is therefore being seriously studied, even if some experts do not rule out the hypothesis of a simple coincidence.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that 348 probable cases of acute childhood hepatitis of unknown origin have been detected so far worldwide.
As a reminder, the list of symptoms of this hepatitis:
– yellowing of the white part of the eyes or skin (jaundice)
– dark urine
– pale gray colored stools
– itchy skin
– muscle and joint pain
– high temperature
– fatigue
– loss of appetite
– stomach pain