In this sense, Griselda Berberian, head of the Clinic in the ambulatory area of the Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases Service at Garrahan Hospital, maintained that “it is not necessary for all children with a simple gastrointestinal condition to go to a shift; patients whose parents do not they look fine, have persistent vomiting, blood in their stool, or any change beyond simple diarrhea.”
The doctor pointed out that “Hepatitis symptoms begin as nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms, with or without diarrhea, and the most characteristic is increased yellowing of the conjunctiva or skin (jaundice), a change in the color of urine (like that of soft drinks), tails) and white fecal matter; in the face of these symptoms, of course, you have to go to a guard”.
Berberian described that “at this time in the Garrahan guard what there are most are respiratory symptoms; some gastrointestinal condition always appears but we do not have an increase in cases in that sense.”
The National Ministry of Health reported that there are “eight suspected cases in our country that are under study and epidemiological investigation by the jurisdictions and have not yet been classified as serious hepatitis of unknown origin.” The portfolio emphasized that “these are isolated cases and without any connection to each other” and that “it is not an outbreak but a situation that does not escape what is reported on a regular basis, since cases are registered every year. with similar pictures of undiagnosed severe acute hepatitis”.
In the same sense, the specialists consulted pointed out that “There have always been cases of acute hepatitis whose origin has not been determined,” but the difference is that at this time there is a current alert from the World Health Organization (WHO) that was issued following the presentation of many cases in the United Kingdom and in the pediatric population.
Along these lines, Berberian indicated that “in Garrahan, liver transplants are one of the most important among solid organ transplants and there was always a group of patients in whom the etiological diagnosis (cause) might not be determined, that is, that practically in half of these children all the etiological agents were studied and the cause might not be determined”.
“At this time in which we have incorporated the vaccines once morest hepatitis A and B into the vaccination schedule for years, these are no longer the main causes of liver transplantation, becoming autoimmune hepatitis and due to malformations in the bile ducts. the main causes of current transplantation,” he detailed.
For her part, De Cristófano, a member of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases (SADI) and head of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Service of the Italian Hospital, maintained that “we have had many cases of hepatitis that start as unknown; sometimes the cause is found, in others not. There were even times when it was only possible to determine when the kidney was removed and then we saw that it was an autoimmune origin.”
“We have also had cases of cyanobacteria, which are bacteria that are in the river, in fact we treated patients from Uruguay for that reason,” he explained.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can be of infectious, toxic (alcohol, medication or some substance that was consumed) or autoimmune cause; and in most cases it is caused by a virus. Viral hepatitis is most often caused by hepatitis A, B, and C viruses.
“The test for hepatitis B and C makes it possible to initiate timely treatment and minimize transmission. Hepatitis A and B are preventable through vaccines. Treatments for chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C are safe and highly effective,” he recalled. the Ministry in a statement.
On 15 April 2022, the WHO published an alert on cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown cause in children in the UK and further cases have been reported since then.
Last Wednesday, Enrique Pérez, head of Information on Health Emergencies and Risk Assessment at PAHO, pointed out during a press conference that so far there are “228 probable cases that have been reported by 20 countries, mainly from the European region, but also from the Americas, the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia”.
It also reported that “19 of these children have undergone liver transplantation and one died.”
According to international agencies, the Indonesian Ministry of Health reported last Monday that it had three other children who died from this cause.
Finally, and although the origin of these conditions is not known, Berberian indicated that “handwashing is a universal measure that prevents all types of infections; it is also important to follow all prevention measures for diseases that are transmitted via food and water such as eating safe foods and drinking water.
“The third issue is vaccination both in the pediatric population and in adults; in the case of girls and boys, the Hepatitis A vaccine is indicated at one year of life and the B from birth,” he concluded.