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What lies behind the new outbreak of severe acute hepatitis that plagues more than a hundred children in Europe remains a mystery. This weekend, the disease, which has been spreading among the youngest for days, ended the life of the first affected child, as confirmed by the WHO.
This virus, which has already reached Spain, no specific cause yet, as confirmed by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). However, the researchers have ruled out that it is one of the five known types of hepatitis so far: A, B, C, D and E.
Symptoms of new childhood hepatitis
At the moment, the cases of this acute hepatitis amount to 169, although the researchers believe that there could be more unidentified.
The age of those affected ranges from one month to 16 years.
The clinical picture observed so far shows that children do not usually have a fever in most cases. It also shows a severe acute hepatitis with markedly elevated transaminases –enzymes that are produced in liver cells–, which occurs together with jaundice -Yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes. On the other hand, the little ones also suffer on many occasions Gastrointestinal disorders including vomiting.
In addition, some of the patients identified in England have ended up evolving towards a acute liver failure and, in the most extreme cases, children have required a liver transplant.
How hepatitis is transmitted in children
There are few details that we know so far about this new hepatitis that, until now, has especially affected the little ones.
Although it is more associated with adulthood, all hepatitis can also present at school age. Nevertheless, it is unknown how this new variant of childhood hepatitis has been transmitted among those infected.
What is known is that the A and E is contracted by the ingestion of contaminated food or waterwhile B, C and D are contagious through body fluids; that is, through a blood transfusion, sexual transmission or by sharing a syringe.
At the moment, the WHO is considering the idea that it is a common virus -known as adenovirus-, which has been found in at least 74 cases and the virus that produces Covid in about 20. However, they conclude that this “does not fully explain the severity of the clinical picture”: “Adenovirus type 41 infection, the type of adenovirus implicated, has not previously been associated with such a clinical presentation. Adenoviruses are common pathogens that generally cause self-limited infections.
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