At least one fatality has been recorded in connection with a strange liver disease outbreak affecting youngsters in Europe and the United States, according to the World Health Organization.
Late Saturday, the United Nations’ World Health Organization announced that it had received reports of at least 169 cases of ‘acute hepatitis of unknown origin’ from a dozen nations.
The incidents affected children ranging in age from one month to sixteen years old, with 17 of those who became unwell requiring liver transplants. The WHO did not specify the country in which the death happened. The first occurrences were reported in the United Kingdom, where 114 children were affected.
‘It is not yet clear if there has been an increase in hepatitis cases, or an increase in awareness of hepatitis cases that occur at the expected rate but go undetected’, WHO said in a statement.
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Experts believe the incidents are connected to a virus that causes colds, but further study is needed. ‘While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent’, the WHO said, noting that the virus has been detected in at least 74 of the cases. Around 20 of the children tested positive for the Covid-19.
As per the WHO, nations impacted are increasing their surveillance of hepatitis cases in children.
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