Geneva, April 24 (Agency) Nearly 170 cases of hepatitis of unknown origin among children are being reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), which says that there has been at least one death already. “As of 21 April 2022, at least 169 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin have been reported from 11 countries in the WHO European Region and one country in the WHO Region of the Americas,” the WHO said on Saturday. Most of the cases have been reported in the UK (114). Other affected countries include the US, Spain, Israel, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Italy.
Norway and France have reported two cases each, while Romania and Belgium have only a single registered case each. “Cases are aged 1 month to 16 years old. Seventeen children (approximately 10%) have required liver transplantation; at least one death has been reported,” the WHO said. At least 20 of the patients also tested positive for the coronavirus, while 19 had a SARS-CoV-2 and adenovirus co-infection, according to the WHO. “The common viruses that cause acute viral hepatitis (hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E) have not been detected in any of these cases. International travel or links to other countries based on the currently available information have not been identified as factors,” the WHO said. The organization specified that travel restrictions are not necessary in the current situation.