Under surveillance. The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that it is investigating cases of hepatitis in dozens of children in the United Kingdom, the origin of which is still unknown. Some of the cases detected have also required a liver transplant.
The United Kingdom had initially reported to WHO on April 5 ten cases of severe hepatitis in Scotland, before reporting 74 others, three days later, according to a press release from the organization. So far, no deaths have been reported.
This hepatitis mainly affects children under 10 years old, and is manifested by symptoms such as jaundice, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Since the usual hepatitis viruses (A to E) have not been detected in affected children, the British health authorities have recently indicated that they are examining the hypothesis of another type of virus (adenovirus), as well as other possible causes such as Covid-19, other infections or environmental factors.
No link to the covid-19 vaccine
Authorities have however ruled out any link to the coronavirus vaccine, which has not been administered to any of the confirmed cases in the UK.
In a statement, Meera Chand of the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) pointed out that “normal hygiene measures” such as hand washing “help reduce many of the infections we are investigating” and called on parents and babysitters to watch for signs of hepatitis.
The WHO stressed that “no other epidemiological risk factors have been identified to date, including recent international travel”. However, the WHO says it is “monitoring the situation closely” and does not recommend any travel restrictions with the United Kingdom and other countries where cases have been identified.