And the World Health Organization announced on Tuesday that it continues to receive dozens of reports of children infected with acute hepatitis, the cause of which has not yet been determined, estimated at 230 around the world.
The cause of these severe infections in the liver is not yet known, while the majority of these cases were recorded in Europe, and the first was in Britain.
On 5 April, 10 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology were reported to WHO in children under 10 in central Scotland. On April 8, the number of cases recorded in the whole of Britain reached 74.
Two causes of hepatitis
And health experts in Britain recently warned that living with a “pet dog”, or taking “paracetamol”, may lead to mysterious cases of hepatitis in children.
Of the 92 cases across Britain, 64 were in children who were from families who owned dogs or were exposed to dogs, according to data from Britain’s Health Security Agency.
Health experts are now exploring this link, which means that the prevalence of hepatitis among children may be due to the country’s high levels of dog ownership.
It was also found that three quarters of the patients mentioned the use of the drug “Paracetamol”, while the use of “Aspirin” was not reported.
Experts said the prevalence of paracetamol use is consistent with guidelines for the management of acute illness in children.
This hepatitis mainly affects children under the age of ten, and its symptoms include jaundice, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. A number of cases required a liver transplant. And at least one of the children who contracted it died.