- The National Committee for Epidemiological Surveillance (CONAVE) issued an epidemiological notice in Mexico about severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin.
- According to the report, as of April 21, 169 cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin have been reported, of which 114 were in Great Britain.
- The CONAVE epidemiological notice for acute childhood hepatitis in Mexico is not equivalent to the “epidemiological alert”, know the details.
The National Committee for Epidemiological Surveillance (CONAVE) issued an epidemiological notice in Mexico about severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin that has caused dozens of cases in children in Europe and other parts of the world.
The document This official service serves to alert medical units at all levels and public health laboratories about the disease severity and the importance of finding him quickly in case there were cases in Mexico. According to the report, As of April 21, 169 cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin have been reported, of which 114 were in Great Britain.
An adenovirus, the main suspect
Although there is still no explanation for the rapidly evolving severe hepatitis of which all cases occur in children, an adenovirus is the main suspect so far. The same CONAVE report states that of all the reported cases, adenoviruses have been detected in at least 74.
Since the adenovirus hypothesis is the most studied, the document with the epidemiological notice also provides information on the virus. The adenovirus F41 that is being studied for its potential relationship with cases it has been previously associated with gastrointestinal infections in girls and boys and has no degree of rarity. It has previously been studied that only in people taking immunosuppressants can adenoviruses cause serious symptoms.
The CONAVE epidemiological notice is not equivalent to an “epidemiological alert”, such as the one that the Ministry of Health issued with SARS-CoV-2 at the time. due to the sudden increase in cases of COVID-19. Epidemiological alerts are only issued if there is a generalized health risk. A warning is equivalent to a pre-alert, while an alert “requires taking the necessary measures and resources” as you read in the guidelines for the issuance of epidemiological alerts from CONAVE.
What are the symptoms of acute childhood hepatitis?
It is an event of interest that is under investigation by the WHO. So far, laboratory tests rule out cases of known viral hepatitis. In many cases, adenovirus infection was found in children and the link between these two is investigated as one of the hypotheses about the underlying causes.
Adenovirus is a common virus that can cause respiratory symptoms or vomiting and diarrhea. In general, the infection is of limited duration and does not progress to worrisome conditions, although rare cases of serious adenovirus infections causing hepatitis have been reported in immunocompromised patients or transplant recipients. However, these children do not fit this description, as they were previously healthy!
How to prevent it?
These are the recommendations that the Ministry of Health projected for the prevention of acute childhood Hepatitis.
- Frequent hand washing with soap and water or gel alcohol solution, especially before and after preparing food and after going to the bathroom or when changing diapers.
- Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughingpreferably use a tissue and throw it in the trash.
- avoid sharing food, drinks, cutlery and dishes;
- Clean and disinfect frequently toys and objects that girls and boys can put in their mouths, as well as surfaces for common use.
- It is also necessary consume plain drinking water; guarantee the hygienic handling of food; complete the basic vaccination schedule according to age; and proper management of excreta.
The WHO has been notified of at least 228 cases from acute childhood hepatitis of unknown origin, and the affected countries are already twenty, almost double the number reported 10 days ago.
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