Acute hepatitis in childrencontagions continue in Europe and the situation raises concern among experts. In Ireland a child has died and another, in very serious condition, needed a liver transplant.
According to theWorld Health Organization (WHO) over 400 cases of hepatitis of unknown origin have been detected in children from 20 different countries around the world. At the moment, the victims are 12, while there are dozens of transplant cases. But what are the symptoms to keep under control? There are four main alarm bells to keep in mindlet’s go into detail.
Acute hepatitis in children, the case of Ireland
In Ireland a child has died and another, in very serious condition, needed a liver transplant. Sky Tg24 reports it. They have been in the country since March six isolated cases of children with acute hepatitis of unknown origin. The cases involve children between one and 12 years old and all have been hospitalized. The Dublin Health Protection Surveillance Center explained that ‘the common viruses that cause hepatitis (A, B, C, E) were not detected in any of the cases in question. We are investigating whether hepatitis cases are linked to an increase in infections caused by adenoviruses, common cause of childhood illness. We also check for other possible origins such as another infection (including Covid) or something in the environment».
Acute hepatitis in children, the 4 symptoms to watch out for
In Ireland, as in other European countries, experts are hard at work to determine the cause of these infections. None of the sick children in Ireland have shown links to Covid, nor to the vaccine. In fact, in most cases they were not vaccinated.
«Ireland – they explain – is working closely with ECDC, UK and WHO colleagues to identify the causes of the disease. Family doctors and pediatric counselors are aware of the recent increase in hepatitis cases among children». The advice to parents is to contact your family doctor immediately if the child develops particular symptoms.
But what are the 4 alarm bells to keep under control? Pale gray colored stools, dark urine, yellowing of the eyes and yellowing of the skin. Other signs are muscle and joint pain, high fever, feeling unwell, feeling unusual tired all the time, general feeling of being unwell, loss of appetite, belly pain, itchy skin.
In an interview with Money.it, Annamaria Staianopresident of the Italian Society of Pediatrics (Sip), he talked about the symptoms to keep under control. “I sintomi – he claims – they are typical of other cases of hepatitis. The WHO speaks of children under the age of 10, but there are also cases of over 11. We are therefore speaking more generally of children under the age of 16. Symptoms to watch for are jaundice, itching, fever. Although fever is not always present. And again, alcoholic stools, lighter and urine much darker. Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting, have also been reported in most affected children. In addition to an impairment of the state of the child, with a lack of strength and appetite».
Staiano concludes by recommending the most suitable therapy: “As for the therapy, Drugs that can compromise liver function, such as some types of antibiotic, should be avoided. Only symptomatic medications are recommended, such as an antipyretic in case of fever».