US CDC is investigating 109 children in 25 states with severe hepatitis, initially suspected of being infected with adenovirus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday (May 6) that the CDC is investigating 109 cases of children with severe hepatitis. This includes five children who have died in order to come to an opinion as to what caused the cause. While initially believed to be caused by adenovirus infection.
The CDC reveals that more than 90% of children are hospitalized and 14% need liver transplants. Those cases have occurred over the past seven months in 25 states and territories, with most of the sick children recovered and discharged from hospital.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, usually caused by a viral infection. But environmental factors can also be a cause. And the occurrence of such diseases in children is not uncommon. But most of them are not severe.
More than half of the children have been confirmed to be infected with adenovirus, however, CDC officials said they still don’t know. Is adenovirus the real cause?
Adenoviruses are common viruses that often cause mild or flu-like symptoms. or have stomach and intestinal problems
The cause of severe hepatitis in healthy children is unknown. Although the disease has been linked to illness in children with weakened immune systems.
“We still don’t know how other factors might play a role, such as children’s exposure to the environment, medications or other infections,” Dr Jay Butler, deputy director of infectious disease at the CDC, told Live Science. reporter on friday
Dr. Butler said Covid-19 vaccination It’s not the cause of the illness, with the children on average two years old, meaning most of them are still not eligible for vaccination.
The CDC is still investigating whether it is linked to COVID-19, but Dr Butler said the first nine children in Alabama with severe hepatitis were Not a covid disease at all.
CNBC reported that the CDC issued a nationwide health alert in late April regarding nine cases of severe pediatric hepatitis in Alabama. The World Health Organization is closely monitoring the situation. It has identified cases of severe unexplained severe hepatitis in children in at least 11 countries.
Picture from : AFP