Recent uptick in pediatric hepatitis cases prompts investigation
These cases are very rare so there is no cause for panic
5 minute read
Starting toward the end of 2021, but now at increasing rates, the WHO and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have reported an increasing case report of hepatitis cases, particularly in children. Since then, the CDC has also reported documented cases here in the US, primarily clustered in Alabama, but also present in other parts of the country.
Hepatitis is a catch-all term that refers to inflammation of the liver. The liver is an organ in our digestive system that filters blood, detoxifies our body, processes nutrients, and helps to fight infections. When the liver is damaged, its function can be affected. Hepatitis can be caused by many things including viral infections, heavy alcohol use, toxins, some medications, and other medical conditions.
Many people are familiar with hepatitis due to several vaccines we have available that prevent common viral infections that can lead to hepatitis. These are hepatitis B virus and hepatitis A virus. However, there are other viruses that we don’t have vaccines for that can also cause hepatitis, including hepatitis C virus, hepatitis D virus, and hepatitis E virus.
As of right now, we do not have a concrete cause for these pediatric cases of acute hepatitis, but some clues are emerging that we want to discuss. We also want to emphasize that these cases are still quite rare, so there is no cause for alarm.
On April 23rd, 2022 the WHO stated that there were about 170 reported cases of hepatitis (liver inflammation) in children (an increase from 74 cases in the UK two weeks ago), which have been reported in 16 countries, mostly in Europe. The ECDC posted a risk assessment on hepatitis cases noting that over 190 cases (111 from UK, 55 from European countries, 12 from Israel, 12 from U.S., and 1 from Japan) have recently been reported. Cases are aged 1 month to 16 years old, about ten percent (17 children) of these cases have been so severe that children needed liver transplants, and at least one death has been reported. The clinical syndrome among identified cases is acute hepatitis and many cases have reported gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting preceding presentation with severe acute hepatitis, and increased levels of liver enzymes.
In the United States, cases have been identified in Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Unbiased Science to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.