Bahrain has not reported a single case of ‘mysterious Hepatitis’: Health Ministry
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Staff Reporter
Allaying fears of a mysterious Hepatitis outbreak among children under 16 years of age, which is fast becoming a matter of huge concern in Europe and North America, the Ministry of Health has confirmed that no cases have been reported in the Kingdom so far.
The ministry said it is in continuous touch with World Health Organisation (WHO) officials and the available information regarding this outbreak in Europe and the US has been shared with paediatricians, infectious disease specialists and other medical experts.
“Teams of doctors from private and public hospitals have been directed to deal with the situation if any arise,” the ministry said. “We are meticulously following up on the developments with global and regional health organisations and experts. The WHO has recommended intensifying cases of Hepatitis among children.”
The ministry’s statement comes in light of a series of unexplained cases of Hepatitis in children that has taken over the world. Many countries including the US and UK reported mysterious cases of a few children being diagnosed with Hepatitis.
From January till now, several cases of Hepatitis positive children have come forward and the doctors are constantly being urged to identify the reason behind this outbreak.
Hepatitis is an infection in the liver caused by different viruses and medical conditions. Some of them can be prevented or protected against through vaccination.
When it is acute, the virus lasts a small time and doesn’t always necessarily need treatments although it can get serious and lead to life-threatening diseases like organ scarring, liver failure and even cancer.
The most common symptoms of Hepatitis are jaundice, fever, fatigue that lasts for weeks or even months, vomiting, loss of appetite, and pain in joints or belly.
Extent of the outbreak
The WHO said the extent of the outbreak is such that at least 169 cases were recorded of children being diagnosed with Hep atitis.
“Cases have been reported in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (114), Spain (13), Israel (12), the United States of America (9), Denmark (6), Ireland(<5), The Netherlands (4), Italy (4), Norway (2), France (2), Romania (1), and Belgium (1).”
Most of these cases were found in children as young as one month and up to 16-year-olds. While 17 children required a liver transplant, at least one child had died of the disease, the WHO report said.
Most of these cases were of acute hepatitis, which causes liver inflammation. The WHO report stated that most of the cases reported symptoms like “abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting preceding presentation with severe acute hepatitis, and increased levels of liver enzymes… and jaundice”.
One concern that the doctors face is that the viruses found in affected children were not any of the usual viruses that are linked to Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E.
Instead, Adenovirus, which is a family of viruses that usually cause cold among other symptoms, has been found in at least 74 cases worldwide.
The WHO report also stated, “The United Kingdom, where the majority of cases have been reported to date, has recently observed a significant increase in adenovirus infections in the community (particularly detected in faecal samples in children) following low levels of circulation earlier in the Covid pandemic.
The Netherlands also reported concurrent increasing community adenovirus circulation.” Public Health Scotland’s director Jim McMenamin told Reuters that 77 per cent of children in Britain had tested positive for the adenovirus.
Cause of the disease?
Amidst rising cases in the US, health officials have been directed to be on the lookout for symptoms of hepatitis in children and conduct tests for adenovirus when they come across such symptoms, especially those linked to a cold virus.
The doctors have also been urged to report any suspected cases of Hepatitis B in children to the state as well as the health department. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that it was working with the UK to understand the cause of the disease among children.
Adenovirus is a group of viruses that commonly cause cold or flu-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, acute bronchitis, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, acute inflammation of the stomach, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.
Type 41 adenovirus
Adenovirus is known to spread from one person to another through close contact, coughing, sneezing and even by touching an object containing adenovirus and then further touching the mouth, nose or eyes.
Type 41 adenovirus is suspected of causing Hepatitis in children. While there are more than 50 types of adenoviruses, it is type 41 that causes diarrhoea, vomiting and fever along with respiratory problems.
In a statement, WHO said: “Adenoviruses are common pathogens that usually cause self-limited infections. They spread from person-to-person and most commonly cause respiratory illness, but depending on the type, can also cause other illnesses such as gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines), conjunctivitis (pink eye), and cystitis (bladder infection).”
“While there have been case reports of hepatitis in immunocompromised children with adenovirus infection, adenovirus type 41 is not known to be a cause of hepatitis in otherwise healthy children,” the organisation added.
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