The WHO recently released official news: As of April 21, at least 169 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin have been reported in many countries, of which at least 74 cases were found to be adenovirus. Many parents of children are worried, is the outbreak of childhood hepatitis related to the new coronavirus and vaccines? In response to the concerns of the public, the reporter interviewed Wang Jianshe, a well-known pediatric liver disease expert and director of the Department of Hepatology of the Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University.
WHO data map
Experts are clear that the number of children with unexplained liver disease has increased globally this time, and it seems that There is no direct link to the new coronavirus. As the world is in the midst of a COVID-19 epidemic, 20% to 30% of children worldwide have been infected with the new crown virus, which may lead people to associate their daily infections with the new crown virus.
“Unknown hepatitis also often occurs during non-epidemic periods.” Wang Jianshe said that in general, hepatitis caused by viral infection can be divided into A, B, C, and D In addition, EV virus infection, giant cell infection, etc. may also lead to hepatitis, and hepatitis caused by infection such as parvovirus B19 was previously classified as “unexplained hepatitis”.
Since the World Health Organization released “Acute Hepatitis of Unknown Cause in the UK” on April 15, cases of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in children have been reported worldwide. Wang Jianshe said that based on WHO’s assessment, it is unclear whether the increase in hepatitis cases or the increased awareness of undetected hepatitis cases occurring at the expected rate. Although adenovirus is a possible cause, the investigation of the causative factor is still ongoing.
Experts explained that if adenovirus is a possible cause, the understanding that hepatitis caused by this virus is related to the epidemic is likely to be that there are many daily adenovirus infections, fewer infections during epidemic isolation, and past viruses. There will be intersections between them, and the new coronavirus is a brand new virus, and there is a lack of intersections with adenoviruses, which may cause severe illness. If this hypothesis is true, there are two main reasons for severe illness: the child’s physical condition is not good, and the adenovirus may mutate.
For the treatment of unexplained hepatitis, experts said that the current treatment is mainly symptomatic, and antiviral drugs are used for viral infections. If the liver cannot support the body, liver transplantation is used. Wang Jianshe also added that adenovirus-induced hepatitis also occurs on a daily basis, mostly in children with low immunity and tumor chemotherapy. In healthy people infected with adenovirus, most of the symptoms are mild and can be cured quickly.
The reporter learned that Since 2020, many children infected with the new coronavirus have been treated in Shanghai. Experts said that this Omicron variant mainly caused respiratory tract infections in children. Previously, the team found that after early observation of 70 to 80 children’s liver function indicators, only 1 child with biliary atresia had abnormal liver function. Biliary tract disease leads to abnormal indicators), and the indicators of other children are in the normal range. At present, the infection and treatment have not been observed to have a great impact on the liver function, and the majority of parents do not need to be overly nervous.
WHO also reminds that further work is needed to identify additional cases in currently affected countries and elsewhere. It is imperative to determine the cause of cases of unexplained liver disease to further improve control and preventive actions. It is reported that preventive measures for adenovirus and other common infections include regular hand washing and respiratory hygiene, which are also hygiene principles that parents need to pay attention to in their daily lives.
Source: Jiefang Daily | Author Gu Yong
Process Editor: TF022