The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert on cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children in the UK on 15 April. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), to date, 348 probable cases were reported in 21 countrieswith 26 children requiring liver transplantation.
Epidemiological, laboratory and clinical information on cases currently available to WHO remains limited. To date, no causative agent of the disease has been determined. THE adenovirus was detected in blood or plasma samples for many of the cases, but at low viral loads.
However, according to Opas, the adenovirus has not yet been identified in liver tissue samples analyzed and, therefore, may be a coincidence and not a causal factor.
According to a survey carried out by the Health Surveillance Secretariat of the Ministry of Health, released on Saturday (14), 47 cases of the disease were reported in Brazil. Of these, three were discarded and the others remain under monitoring.
On the 13th, the Ministry of Health installed a situation room to monitor and follow up on cases of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in the country.
Features of Adenovirus 41
Although adenovirus is a possible cause, investigations are ongoing to clarify the causative agent of the disease.
According to the information released by the WHO on April 23, adenovirus was detected in at least 74 cases and, of the number of cases with information on molecular diagnostic tests, 18 were identified as type 41 .
The WHO claims that the adenovirus type 41 infection was not previously associated with the clinical presentation described in cases of childhood hepatitis.
In general, adenoviruses spread from person to person and cause self-limiting infections , such as respiratory symptoms. Depending on the type, the virus can also cause other illnesses, such as gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines), conjunctivitis and bladder infection (cystitis).
They exist more than 50 types of adenovirus that can cause infections in humans. Adenovirus type 41 usually presents as diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, often accompanied by respiratory symptoms.
According to the WHO, although there are case reports of hepatitis in immunocompromised children with adenovirus infection, adenovirus type 41 is not known to be a cause of hepatitis in healthy children.
Investigations in progress
For the WHO, factors such as increased susceptibility among young children following a lower level of adenovirus circulation during the Covid-19 pandemic, the potential emergence of a new adenovirus, as well as SARS-CoV-2 co-infection need to be addressed. more investigated.
At the moment, hypotheses related to the side effects of vaccines against Covid-19 are ruled out, as the vast majority of affected children did not receive doses of the immunizers, according to the WHO.
Investigations are being carried out in search of other infectious and non-infectious explanations for the clinical conditions, with the aim of fully assessing and managing the risk. PAHO and affected countries collect additional data and carry out studies to determine the etiology and, based on this, issue recommendations to better define appropriate prevention, treatment, and control actions.
PAHO and WHO recommend that countries identify and investigate potential cases and keep entities updated on the situation, including epidemiological information and risk factors for identified cases.
Source: CNN Brasil
