Hepatitis

These children in general tended to be healthy prior to developing hepatitis. And before you start blaming the Covid-19 vaccine, keep in mind that the majority ...

This may be a hepatitis outbreak of unknown origin. “Hepatitis” is a fairly generic term for some kind of inflammation of the liver because “hepa” stands for liver and “itis” means inflammation. Of course, various hepatitis viruses can cause hepatitis such as the hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D, and hepatitis E viruses. For now this hepatitis outbreak remains a bit of a mystery wrapped in an enigma, sprinkled with some WTH. Until more is known about the cause, it’s difficult to know what to do to contain this outbreak. But before you say that you know that it is adenovirus, keep in mind that such severe acute hepatitis would not be a typical presentation for adenovirus type 41. However, of the ones that have, adenovirus type 41 has been found in 18 of the cases. The major concern with hepatitis is the potential for liver damage and even liver failure. While there have been case reports of hepatitis in immunocompromised children with adenovirus infection, adenovirus type 41 is not known to be a cause of hepatitis in otherwise healthy children. Of note, the U.K. has been experiencing an upswing in adenovirus infections in general. While an inflamed nose may be obvious, you shouldn’t be able to see your liver in the mirror or on a selfie unless something has gone horribly wrong. Since then, though, cases have continued to balloon with now at least 114 in the United Kingdom, at least 13 in Spain, at least 12 in Israel, at least nine in the U.S., at least six in Denmark, at least four in The Netherlands, at least four in Italy, at least two in Norway, at least two in France, at least one in Romania, at least one in Belgium, and somewhere between one and four in Ireland. And before you start blaming the Covid-19 vaccine, keep in mind that the majority of these affected children did not even get vaccinated against Covid-19.