The cases of acute hepatitis that occurred in children in the spring of 2022 could be linked to a conjunction of viruses and an immunity deficiency.
- In the spring of 2022, children were affected by a mysterious infantile hepatitis.
- This liver infection could be caused by simultaneous contamination by two viruses.
- The decrease in children’s immunity, due to the pandemic, would also have contributed to the appearance of these infections.
A year after the appearance of a new form of acute hepatitis in children, scientists are beginning to see things more clearly. According to a new study, from UC San Francisco, published in the journal Natureit could be the consequence of co-infections and weaker immunity due to the pandemic years.
Acute childhood hepatitis: children affected all over the world
According to the authors of this research, about 1,000 cases have been identified: “50 of these children required liver transplants and at least 22 died.”, they point out. 34 different countries were involved, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain and Ireland. According to the World Health Organization, the disease is manifested by these main symptoms: jaundice, i.e. yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, pale stools and vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain. “The majority of young children have no noticeable symptoms, but a few develop jaundicespecifies theWHO. Acute hepatitis can pass quickly, without the need for special care or treatment, but sometimes it can lead to acute liver failure or even death..”
Acute childhood hepatitis: what is new knowledge about the disease?
In this new study, the researchers linked the disease to “co-infections with several common viruses, in particular a strain of adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2)”. “AAVs are not known to cause hepatitis on their own, they develop. They need ‘helper’ viruses, such as the adenoviruses that cause colds and flu, to replicate in the liver.” In some children, it would therefore be the combination of the two infections by these viruses which would have facilitated the appearance of this severe hepatitis. In tests carried out on 16 cases, the scientists detected the AAV2 virus in 93% of the samples. D According to the authors, these results corroborate those of two other studies carried out in the United Kingdom.While infections with adeno-associated viruses can occur at any age, the peak is generally between 1 and 5 years of age, point out the authors.
Acute childhood hepatitis: what has been the impact of the pandemic?
But the Covid-19 pandemic would also have had an impact. “We were surprised that the infections we detected in these children were not caused by an unusual emerging virus, but by common viral pathogens in children.explains Charles Chiu, lead author of this study. That’s what led us to speculate that the epidemic was probably related to the really unusual situations we were going through with school and daycare closures due to Covid-19 and social restrictions..” After the confinements and the remote school, the return to school was accompanied by a greater susceptibility to infections for the children.
How to protect children from acute hepatitis?
The authors of this work recall that the cases have decreased. However, Charles Chiu gives two pieces of advice to protect the youngest: “wash your hands frequently” And “leave the children at home when they are sick”. I’WHO adds that the protective measures against Covid-19 are also valid in the case of this pathology: avoid crowded places, keep a sufficient distance from others, ventilate interior spaces, wear a mask if necessary and cover your mouth and the nose when coughing or sneezing.
