Experts said today that cases of a mysterious form of hepatitis affecting children have peaked in the UK.
In the last five months, about 180 young people have suffered from an unusual liver disease. Most cases occurred in children under 5 years of age who initially experienced diarrhea and nausea, then developed jaundice – yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Scientists are still puzzled over the cause of the disease, which occurs in the United States, Western Europe, and a handful of other countries. Worldwide, at least 12 teenagers have died and dozens have required liver transplants.
Dr. Tassos Grammatikopoulos, consultant at King’s College Hospital in London, who has treated some of the affected children, said the UK had passed the “peak” of the epidemic.
He said cases peaked a few weeks ago and are now in a downward trend. However, he noted that new cases are still being detected.
Scientists have yet to find out what causes the disease, with the usual hepatitis A, B, C, D and E viruses excluded from laboratory test results.
Health leaders suspect an adenovirus may be the culprit. But studies are still ongoing, as they usually only cause colds and stomach flu.
Other theories are that there is a new virus behind the epidemic, that children are struggling with adenovirus at the same time as Covid, or that the complication may be Covid for a long time.
Authorities even said they were investigating whether dogs were to blame, after discovering last week that “a large number” of sick children came from families that had dogs or were “exposed to dogs.”
However, after a review of the data, the dogs were “expelled from the list of possible offenders” after showing “no indication” of their involvement.
Professor Calum Semple, a pediatrician at the University of Liverpool and a member of SAGE, said the high virus rates in the spring are now “melting away” as people spend more time outside.
He said this means the UK is headed for a “slightly better summer” as cases of viruses and hopefully hepatitis are declining.
Scientists are still puzzled over the cause of the disease, which occurs in the United States, Western Europe, and a handful of other countries. Worldwide, at least 12 teenagers have died and dozens have required liver transplants.
Health chiefs noted last week that “there has been a marked drop in confirmed cases over the past two weeks.”
But the UK Health Safety Agency team warned that the setback could be due to delays in reporting.
At his press conference today, Dr. Grammatikopoulos: “At least we now know that there are fewer cases”.
But as with Covid, he said it was “very difficult to predict” what will happen in the future. “So that’s something to think about,” he added.
Dr. Grammatikopoulos noted that the increase in hepatitis coincided with a high number of viral infections in all age groups, as well as record levels of adenovirus.
About 20 children become ill with an unexplained case of hepatitis each year. But health chiefs had seen more children with liver inflammation in the spring than they would normally expect in a year.
About three quarters of 176 children with hepatitis in the UK tested positive for adenoviruses, according to the analysis.
The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) has acknowledged that it is possible for others to have the virus because of the way testing is done.
Some of the negative cases looked for adenovirus only in respiratory and stool samples, although it was detected mainly in the blood.
Scholars believe congestion is a factor in the outbreak, as they suppress the circulation of the virus and make children more susceptible to mostly mild pathogens.
Professor Will Irving, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, said the drop in cases “suggested” the underlying cause was due to “behavioral changes that the entire population went through” during the pandemic.
He told the briefing: “This has caused a dramatic loss of viruses in recent years and then a huge wave.”
However, the researchers noted that scientists are still investigating exactly what was behind the epidemic.
Leading experts fear that health leaders may not understand what is behind this intriguing pattern, which has sickened at least 520 children worldwide for months since March.
The UKHSA raised the alarm last week after suggesting that dogs may be involved in the outbreak.
He searched for survey responses from affected families and found that 70 percent – 64 of the 92 respondents – owned or had been exposed to a dog.
The health chiefs acknowledged the finding may have been coincidence, as owning a dog is “common in the UK”.
But Professor Semple said UKHSA looked “very closely” at the data and found “nothing that points to a role for dogs in children with acute hepatitis”.
He added that the hypothesis “has now been taken out of the line of inquiry by public health officials in England and Scotland.”
Source: Daily Mail
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