The World Health Organisation has stated that they have found 170 cases of a severe strain of hepatitis in children in 11 countries around the world, but that they are uncertain exactly what is causing the disease.
The vast majority of the children suffering from hepatitis are unvaccinated and the cause is not thought to be directly linked to Covid-19. Most are aged under the age of 10, with many under the age of 5. Almost none had any pre-existing health conditions.
17 of the cases have been so serious that the children have required emergency liver transplants.
The first 5 cases were identified in Scotland, who alerted the UK Health Security Agency. The 5 did not have any of the commonly seen hepatitis strains A, B, C, D and E. The UK as a whole has announced they have so far found 114 cases. However, Spain, Israel, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Romania and France all have reported similar cases. None of the 170 children have had contact with each other in the past.
Hepatitis affects the liver and has various forms. Hepatitis A is contracted from food and can normally be beaten without long-term consequences, whereas the common hepatitis B and C are passed through blood and often do not damage an individual for many decades post-infection.
Antimicrobial resistance expert at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Aikaterini Mougkou, told reporters:
"As we do not know the cause, we do not know the transmission route and how to prevent and treat it."
One potential cause of the hepatitis being looked at is adenoviruses which are extremely common and cause colds and bronchitis. While the vast majority of the population are exposed to these viruses and get over them easily some scientists are postulating that lockdown isolated children and therefore their immune systems are unused to being exposed to such diseases. 75% of the patients in the UK have tested positive for adenoviruses.
Another theory is that past Covid-19 infection, when mixed with adenovirus, can result in an immune response that damages the liver.
[Based on reporting by: South China Morning Post]
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