Recently, scientists in the UK have discovered that a mysterious outbreak of acute hepatitis cases in children is not related to the coronavirus.
This increase is related to the common adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2), which is now found at high levels in almost all samples of young patients with unexplained hepatitis.
AAV2 is not usually known to cause disease on its own and is usually accompanied by an adenovirus infection, a common virus that causes mild cold or flu-like illness.
Since January, doctors in the UK have noticed a sudden onset of liver inflammation, also known as acute hepatitis, in most children under the age of five.
Children with the condition typically required hospitalization for several days, with 11 children in the UK and 1 in Scotland needing a liver transplant.
In the UK, the majority of 268 cases were under the age of 5 and nearly 40% of hospitalizations (74 of 189) required hospitalization in the intensive care unit. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported at least 1,010 possible cases in 35 countries.
Previously, health officials thought that a surge in adenovirus infections in the spring of 2022 (the virus most commonly found in samples of affected children so far) could be part of the explanation for the surge in hepatitis cases.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow looking at cases in Scotland and a second new study at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) that study cases across four UK countries sheds light on another virus that appears to be playing an important role.
Researchers from both teams found that AAV2, which cannot replicate without a “helper” virus such as adenovirus or herpesvirus, was present in all 9 unknown hepatitis cases and 94% (16 of 17) cases in the Glasgow study. I did. GOSH research. The team said their results were “absolutely consistent.”
Therefore, scientists believe that co-infection with two viruses, AAV2 and adenovirus, or, rarely, the herpes virus HHV6, which was also found in samples from some patients, may provide the best explanation for the development of severe liver disease in affected children.
Both studies were able to rule out the possibility of recent or previous SARS-CoV-2. [the virus that causes Covid-19] Infection as a direct cause of acute hepatitis. While the researchers did not find SARS-CoV-2 in the patients’ livers, a test conducted by the Glasgow team to determine whether children had previously been infected with Covid found that only two-thirds of patients were infected with Covid antibody-like infections. found to have antibodies against The prevalence of children in Scotland at the time. Furthermore, the peak of cases occurred after the peak of Covid cases in Scotland, but shortly after the peak of adenovirus infection.
Researchers are still not sure why this is happening, but the two teams found that when adenovirus infection peaked in the general population after a period of containment, the decline in children’s immunity to specific viruses and viral circulation patterns.
Professor Judy Breuer, GOSH’s Emeritus Consultant Virologist, said: “There are still some unanswered questions about the exact cause of the surge in acute hepatitis, but since neither team has found direct cases of infection, these findings are not conclusive on Covid-19. I hope this can reassure parents who are concerned about it. Associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, our data point to AAV2 in the liver and/or blood of cases as the strongest biomarker for hepatitis.
“Also, the presence of HHV6 and adenoviruses in damaged livers removed from five children requiring liver transplantation raises questions about the role of co-infection with these three viruses in the most severe cases.”
both studies MedRxiv, an Internet site distributing unpublished eprints for health sciences. as pre-printed.