The World Health Organization (WHO) said at a press conference on the 10th that so far, 348 cases of unexplained childhood hepatitis have been reported in 20 countries in five regions of the world.
A further 70 cases from 13 countries are awaiting confirmation, and six countries have reported more than five cases, said Dr Philippa Easterbrook, a senior scientist at the World Health Organization. She said the cases included new and retrospective cases.
Over the past week, scientists around the world have continued to work to investigate the causes of these diseases. An investigative team led by British scientists still believes adenoviruses are a likely cause, but the role of the new coronavirus remains an important consideration, the WHO said.
Easterbrook said that so far, liver histology has not shown evidence of liver inflammation caused by adenovirus, and the next investigation will focus on serological testing to assess the impact of previous infection with the new coronavirus.
WHO previously stated, “Although adenovirus is currently a hypothesis, it does not fully explain the severity of the clinical situation. Previously infected with adenovirus type F41 (the adenovirus found in patients with unexplained hepatitis) type) did not have such severe hepatitis.”