Hepatitis: Ecdc, a worrying event for public health

‘The current main hypothesis is that a cofactor affecting young children with an adenovirus infection, which would be mild under normal circumstances, triggers a more severe infection or immune-mediated liver injury. Other etiologies (for example other infectious or toxic agents) are still under study and have not been excluded but are considered less plausible ‘.
This is what the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, ECDC, writes about the spread among children of cases of hepatitis of unknown origin. ‘The pathogenesis of the disease and the routes of transmission are also still unknown. The disease is quite rare and evidence of human-to-human transmission is still unclear; the cases in the EU / See are clearly sporadic with little tendency. Consequently, the risk for the European pediatric population cannot be accurately assessed, ”says the ECDC. “However, considering the reported cases of acute liver failure, with some cases undergoing liver transplantation, the potential impact for the affected pediatric population is considered to be high. Access to highly specialized pediatric intensive care and transplant services can have an additional impact on outcomes. Considering the unknown etiology, the affected pediatric population and the potential serious outcome, this is currently a worrying event for public health, ”the ECDC report reads.