Health officials in Britain are investigating a strange health condition, which is the infection of dozens of children with “unexplained” hepatitis, which recently appeared among young children in the country.
The sources indicated that these “unexplained” cases of hepatitis in children also appeared in a number of countries such as Spain and America.
According to the article published in the scientific journal “livescience”, some affected children in Britain received the required evaluation in specialized centers and a “small number” of children underwent new liver transplants.
In turn, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on 8 April, “Although hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D and E) are often a cause of hepatitis, these have been ruled out. viruses”.
“Potential complications of hepatitis include liver failure and death, and liver transplants are usually used to treat eventual liver failure,” says Dr Rachel Tyler, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Glasgow.
Symptoms affecting children before illness
Tyler and her colleagues wrote a report on recent cases of hepatitis among children in Scotland, which was published in the journal Eurosurveillance, where they noted that in most of these cases, children recovered through only supportive care in hospital, which included maintaining fluid and nutritional levels and monitoring blood clots; However, in a few cases, children need to be evaluated for potential liver transplants and, in some cases, have undergone a transplant.
As officials continue to investigate the cause of severe acute hepatitis cases, doctors have been urged to look for possible signs and symptoms of hepatitis in pediatric patients, as the condition sometimes precedes gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting and abdominal pain. Which means yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes.
“In milder cases, it can be very difficult to see,” Tyler noted.
Other possible symptoms of hepatitis include dark urine, pale stools, itchy skin, joint stiffness, muscle aches, fever, nausea, abdominal pain, lethargy and loss of appetite, according to an NHS statement.
“Parents should be careful to take seriously children who are vomiting or develop jaundice and should seek medical attention immediately if this occurs,” said Jeremiah Levine, director of pediatric gastroenterology at New York University.
Tyler stressed that children should wash their hands to prevent potential exposure to viruses that can cause hepatitis. She added that if any child gets an infection, they should be kept at home to prevent the spread of germs.