Acute hepatitis and adenovirus infection in children

Currently, many countries around the world are facing an increase in severe acute hepatitis in children of unknown cause. Although Vietnam has not had any cases, but with the complexity of the disease, parents actively updating their knowledge helps the prevention process better.

Hepatitis occurs when liver cells are inflamed and destroyed. The liver is the part for many important functions of the body such as synthesizing proteins containing essential amino acids or deactivating the body ... So when the liver is damaged, it can cause many serious consequences. such as: bleeding or complications of bile leakage affecting the patient's health as well as life-threatening.
Hepatitis can be caused by viruses, alcohol, or other chemicals and can also be caused by some metabolic disorders, immune system disorders. Therefore, hepatitis can be acute or chronic.
With the main viruses that have been shown to cause acute viral hepatitis in humans including hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E. Most cases of acute hepatitis are caused by 5 viruses. This disease can cause self-healing within a few weeks to a few months, and only a very small percentage of subjects develop fulminant hepatitis, even causing death. . In some cases, patients with acute hepatitis B and C can progress to chronic hepatitis B and C. However, viral hepatitis A, B and D can now be prevented with a vaccine.

According to the World Health Organization, WHO has received the first report of the occurrence of many cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in children who have been in the past. determined to be healthy. As of May 2022, there are about 300 children with acute hepatitis of unknown cause in 20 countries around the world. Of these children, 9 died. Acute hepatitis can occur in very young children. However, most pediatric patients are able to make a full recovery. But there are still some cases of severe transfer and need to perform liver transplantation technique, accounting for 10%.

According to statistics of the World Health Organization WHO, all cases of acute hepatitis have symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, markedly elevated liver enzymes, and most of the children have no signs at first. fever sign.
WHO experts believe that these episodes of acute hepatitis in children are not caused by the hepatitis virus but may be caused by another virus. According to the initial research results, scientists have identified and ruled out the cause of acute hepatitis that is not caused by viruses A, B, C, D and E along with other causes of hepatitis. acute. Based on these results, it is possible that a different virus from this group is suspected to be the causative agent. And that virus could be an Adenovirus.
The reason Adenovirus is mentioned in the cases of children with acute hepatitis is because the location of the disease in these children has a high prevalence of Adenovirus and this is the same virus that causes respiratory disease. During the study, which tested cases of acute hepatitis, Adenovirus was detected in 74 cases with a rather high rate.
In addition to suspected Adenovirus infection in children, researchers also identified 20 cases of SARS-CoV 2 infection, of which up to 19 cases were both infected with SARS-CoV 2 and infected with Adenovirus virus.
Cases of acute hepatitis are mostly reported in the UK. At the same time, it has also recently been reported that there is a significant increase in the cases of children infected with the adenovirus virus in the community. This is done through virus monitoring in the child's stool samples. Similarly, the Netherlands is also being reported to have an increase in the prevalence of adenovirus in the community.
However, more in-depth studies are still needed to confirm the role of adenovirus in causing acute hepatitis in children. Because there are some results that are inconsistent with the evidence in the previous literature: Adenovirus type F41 does not cause the clinical picture of the severity as currently reported. Adenovirus infection can cause a mild infection that is likely to go away on its own. The virus spreads from person to person and causes common respiratory illness, but depending on the virus, it can cause different conditions such as gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis or cystitis.
Currently, according to statistics, there are many studies showing that there are more than 50 types of Adenovirus viruses that can cause infections in humans and cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever along with respiratory symptoms. Although there have been reports of hepatitis in attenuated children caused by adenovirus, Adenovirus type 41 has never been known to cause hepatitis in otherwise healthy children.

Although there is no clear cause for acute hepatitis in children, when the child has symptoms such as jaundice, dark urine, or accompanied by fever, fatigue, crying a lot Parents should take the child to the hospital for timely examination and treatment. Parents should not arbitrarily buy medicine for children without a doctor's prescription. Because when the liver has been damaged, the use of drugs can affect, even be dangerous to the liver.
Hepatitis can be caused by any number of reasons, but the right treatment regimen is required for optimal effectiveness.
Currently, Vietnam has no cases of acute hepatitis in children. However, the possibility of the virus entering Vietnam is also very high and difficult to avoid. Therefore, parents need to be vigilant and pay special attention to their children. When experiencing abnormal signs, the child should be taken to a medical facility for timely support. In addition, parents should regularly clean children's personal hygiene and clean the living environment to help minimize the spread of infections.

Reference source: cdc.gov/mmwr - .cdc.gov/media