The World Health Organization (WHO) has received notification of 1010 probable cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children from 35 countries.
Of them, 22 have died and 46 have needed liver transplants.
Since the last update, published on June 24, 2022, 90 new probable cases and four additional deaths have been reported to WHO. In addition, two new countries, Luxembourg and Costa Rica, have joined the list.
Almost half of the infections (484) have been reported from Europe, with the highest number, 272, in the United Kingdom. In America, 435 cases have been detected, including 334 in the United States.
The regions with the highest number of cases are the Western Pacific (70), Southeast Asia (19) and the Eastern Mediterranean (two cases).
The WHO warns that the true number may be underestimated , in part due to the limited surveillance systems in place. The count is expected to change as more information and verified data becomes available.
Unknown origin
WHO/Yoshi Shimizu. A health worker in a laboratory at the National Laboratory and Epidemiology Center, in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Laboratory tests have excluded hepatitis AE viruses in these children . Pathogens such as adenovirus and coronavirus have been detected in several of the cases.
Adenovirus is the most common pathogen. In the European region, it was detected by PCR in 52% of cases with available results.
The coronavirus was detected by PCR in 16% of cases in the European region.
The most frequent symptoms presented by sick children were nausea or vomiting (60% of cases), jaundice (53%), general weakness (52%), and abdominal pain (50%). The average time between the onset of symptoms and hospitalization was four days.
Preventive measures Until more is known about the origin of the disease, the WHO recommends taking general infection prevention and control measures:
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Global survey
On July 11, WHO launched a global online survey with the aim of estimating the incidence of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin compared to the previous five years, understanding where cases are occurring, and liver transplants with rates higher than expected.
WHO has shared the voluntary survey with nine global and regional networks of pediatric hepatologists and other pediatric specialists working in large hospitals. The Organization will make public the provisional results of the survey as soon as they are available.
