After entering the route of countries in attention for possible cases of hepatitis of unknown cause, Brazil is investigating 71 suspected cases of the disease. According to the Ministry of Health, until Sunday (5), 106 cases were reported, 34 were discarded and 1 was classified as probable.
Last Sunday (5), an 11-year-old boy died at the Children’s Hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, with suspected acute hepatitis of unknown origin.
The child lives in Campos dos Goytacazes, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, where he received the first care and had the suspicion of the disease raised by doctors.
According to the city hall, the child was admitted to Hospital Ferreira Machado on Wednesday (1st), after presenting non-specific symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, poor general condition, evolving to an alternation of drowsiness with agitation and jaundice.
The exams showed the presence of liver inflammation, presenting criteria for a probable case of acute hepatitis of unknown origin.
“Still at Ferreira Machado Hospital, the boy underwent tests that ruled out the possibility of hepatitis type A, B and C and also dengue. Antigen research was also carried out for the detection of coronavirus, but the result was negative. The possibility of drug-induced hepatitis was also ruled out.
The municipality also informed that it notified the State Department of Health (SES) about the case and that it awaits the completion of the material sent for analysis at the Central Laboratory of Public Health Noel Nutels (Lacen/RJ).
The State Health Department (SES) responded to the CNN that the case is being investigated and that the complementary tests performed on the child are being analyzed.
In a note, the Ministry of Health reported that “it is in contact with the states to support monitoring and health surveillance actions”.
First probable case of the disease
At the end of May, the country had the 1st probable case of hepatitis of unknown origin. According to the Ministry of Health, this is a 16-year-old teenager, resident of Ponta Porã, in Mato Grosso do Sul.
According to the report, the girl had symptoms such as nausea, fever and yellowish skin, which are characteristic of the disease of unknown cause.
Until confirmation, there are three stages in the Ministry of Health: investigation, probable and confirmed.
Acute childhood hepatitis of unknown origin
On 15 April this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an alert on cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children in the UK.
Since then, there have been additional reports of ongoing cases due to notifications in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and the United States.
Hepatitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the liver. There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus, types A, B, C, D, and E. Although they all cause liver disease, they differ in important ways, including modes of transmission, severity of illness, geographic distribution, and prevention methods.
In most cases, viral hepatitis are silent diseases that do not show symptoms over the years. Usually, the disease is already in a more advanced stage when the signs appear.
The most common are fever, weakness, abdominal pain, nausea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, dark urine, yellow eyes and skin (jaundice), and whitish stools.
See the number of cases investigated by states:
- SP (16)
- MG (11)
- EC (9)
- RJ (6)
- PE (6)
- RS (5)
- SC (4)
- RN (3)
- GO (2)
- PR (2)
- MS (1)
- ES (1)
- MA (1)
- PB (1)
- AL (1)
- PA (1)
- RO (1)
*With information from CNN’s Nohlan Hubertus.
Source: CNN Brasil
