According to the European office of the World Health Organization (WHO), 70% of mysterious hepatitis cases in the region are infected with Covid-19.
As of May 15, the world registered 450 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in 25 countries, of which 12 patients died.
According to new research published in the journal The Lancet, the disease may be linked to Covid-19. Currently, cases of acute hepatitis have been recorded in Europe, USA, Israel, Japan, Indonesia…
Most pediatric patients present with gastrointestinal instability followed by jaundice and, in some cases, acute hepatic failure. However, the test does not detect the common hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E.
Experts say the recent cases of acute hepatitis in children may have resulted from a Covid-19 infection, followed by an adenovirus infection after a viral reservoir appeared in the intestinal tract.
After a person is infected with Covid-19, the reservoir of the SARS-CoV-2 virus can lead to over-activation of immune cells, causing Childhood Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C). If there is such a viral reservoir and the subsequent infection of the child with adenovirus, this will lead to immunological abnormalities such as acute severe hepatitis.
Isabella Eckerle, co-director of the Center for New Viral Diseases at the University Hospital of Geneva (Switzerland), said the possibility of acute hepatitis in children after being infected with Covid-19 cannot be ruled out.
The persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the gastrointestinal tract of the infant results in a continuous release of viral proteins into intestinal epithelial cells. That abnormal activation of immune cells has been identified as the mechanism that induces MIS-C.
MIS-C has been a source of widespread concern since April 2020. Patients with this syndrome experience inflammation in multiple organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, stomach and liver, which can even lead to multi-organ failure and, in severe cases, death.
Israel recently reported cases of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in 12 children. 11 of them have infected Covid-19 in the past year.
Health experts note that a severe Covid-19 infection can cause liver damage. That means unexplained hepatitis could be one of the long-term symptoms of Covid-19.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe reported on May 13 that 70% of mysterious hepatitis cases in the region were infected with Covid-19.
Among pediatric patients monitored for progression, the rate of severe cases was up to 15.4%. Of the cases with Covid-19 vaccination data, nearly 84% were unvaccinated.
Health experts have raised concerns about the risk of a new virus spreading unchecked among children, who are largely unvaccinated, and complications after Covid-19 are still unknown.
@ vietnamnet
