The international investigation continues to try to understand the increase in cases of severe childhood hepatitis, a phenomenon of which Canada is no exception.
On its website, updated Friday, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) now indicates that 10 children have been infected so far, including 4 in Ontario, 3 in Alberta, 2 in Manitoba and 1 in Quebec. .
These cases is not caused by known virus strains that cause hepatitis in children, such as hepatitis A, B, C, and Eemphasizes thePHAC.
Children were 1 to 13 years old and became ill between November 3, 2021 and April 23, 2022he specified, adding that all children were hospitalized and the two of them liver transplant needed.
No deaths were reported, he said.
A pain that many faces
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, explainsPHAC on its website.
Some types can be treated, and most sick people recoverhe assured us, but the pain could too become very sudden and progress to liver failure over days or weeks.
In Canada, the chronic form of hepatitis in children is bihiracontinues thePHAC. However, it is present, and at present, the cause of the disease is unknownadmitted by the Agency.
An international concern
Hundreds of children around the world are currently affected by acute childhood hepatitis. The first cases were seen in Alabama, USA in October 2021, but researchers initially believed it was a local problem.
In early April, the UK notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of an abnormally high number of cases. An international investigation was scheduled in the following days.
Subsequently, other cases were seen in Europe and the United States, so Canada decided to open its own investigation.
So far, authorities and researchers are primarily looking at two possible causes: an adenovirus and SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.
Symptoms of acute chronic hepatitis in children can take the form of jaundice, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, pale stools, loss of appetite, fever or fatigue.
Source: Radio-Canada
