The World Health Organization (WHO) received reports of the detection of 920 possible cases of childhood hepatitis of unknown origin in 33 countries, reports the RT web portal.

Through his statement, he detailed that 270 new cases of the disease were recorded since 27 May.

At least 45 patients required liver transplants and 18 deaths have been recorded.

The outbreak was initially detected on 5 April 2022, when the UK notified WHO of ten cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in previously healthy children under the age of 10 in Scotland.

Currently, half of the patients (460) are from the European region, including 267 in the UK. America is in second place with 383, including 305 in the United States.

International health organizations emphasize that the actual number of patients can be underestimated due to limited ‘in situ’ monitoring capabilities, among other reasons.

Symptom

The most common symptoms of the disease are nausea or vomiting, jaundice, general weakness and abdominal pain.

WHO considers the risk of the disease to spread globally as “moderate”. The sources and forms of transmission of potential pathogens are still unknown, making it impossible to assess the prospects for epidemiological evolution.

Adenovirus was the most frequently found pathogen in biomaterials among the cases for which data were available.

Also, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in some cases, although serological data are limited in this regard.

WHO does not exclude person-to-person transmission and cites several related case reports.

The agency recommends that countries detect, investigate and report potential cases of the disease and urges them to follow health precautions such as washing hands, avoiding places where people congregate and ventilating rooms.

VTV/WIL/EMPG