Experts from the United Kingdom believe they have identified the cause of the recent rash of unexplained liver problems affecting young children worldwide. The sudden surge of mysterious hepatitis found in children.
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Investigations indicate that after pandemic lockdowns were lifted, two common viruses made a comeback and caused the rare but extremely severe hepatitis cases. More than 1,000 children, many of whom are under the age of five, are believed to have been affected in 35 countries. Some, including 12 in the United Kingdom, have required a liver transplant to survive.
The two research teams from London and Glasgow assert that infants exposed later than usual due to Covid restrictions lacked early immunity to The adenovirus, which normally causes colds and stomach upsets, and has been found to cause cancer.
Adeno-associated virus two typically does not cause illness and requires a coinfecting “helper” virus, such as adenovirus, to replicate. This may explain why some individuals developed unusual and concerning liver complications.
Across the globe, hundreds of young children have developed severe cases of hepatitis for no apparent reason, leaving doctors baffled. However, two new studies identify the potential culprits as a combination of genetic factors, lockdowns, and at least two viruses.
In April of this year, doctors in Scotland first noticed a strange cluster of hepatitis cases among young children. On April 8, Scotland, England, and Wales were investigating sixty cases, mostly involving children aged two to five.
The World Health Organization reported 1,010 probable cases of liver disease in 35 countries as of July 8; however, the actual number is likely to be higher, according to Antonia Ho, an infectious diseases consultant at the MRC–the University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research who has been investigating the outbreak. A third of the reported cases have occurred in the United States.
Around 5 percent of infected children worldwide have required liver transplants, and 22 have died as a result. In addition, the cause of the outbreak remains a mystery. These children are not infected with the viruses that cause the disease.
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Mysterious hepatitis was found in children, Early on SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for covid-19, and adenovirus, a common virus that frequently causes cold and flu-like symptoms, were the most likely culprits. After a period of unusually low transmission, adenoviruses appeared to surge as lockdowns were lifted and people began to mingle more.
In a recent study, the team evaluated nine children with mystery hepatitis in Scotland and compared them to 58 children without the condition.
The team examined blood, liver, and fecal matter samples as well as throat and nose swabs taken from the children. Six of the nine children’s samples contained adenovirus, but they were unable to detect the viruses that typically cause hepatitis.
The team also discovered a virus known as AAV-2 or adeno-associated virus. This virus was detected in samples from all nine children with unexplained hepatitis, but none of the children without the condition.
This virus is known to infect the majority of people by the age of 10, and the majority of people develop antibodies against it by the age of three. However, it has never been directly linked to human disease, according to Thomson.
Unusually, the virus relies on other viruses to replicate and produce copies of itself. Today, at a virtual press briefing, Thomson told reporters, “In this case, we believe the helper virus is the adenovirus.” She added that it is possible that the adenovirus infection followed an AAV2 infection, or that both viruses struck simultaneously. Thomson stated, “At this time, we are unable to determine which of these viruses is responsible for the condition.”
Covid-19 may have indirectly caused the hepatitis outbreak. Lockdowns helped reduce the spread of covid and other infectious diseases. The surge in adenovirus cases may be due to children returning to school and mixing again.
Both studies were small and haven’t been published. It’s our clearest picture yet. Cases of the mysterious condition appear to be declining, but the WHO warns it doesn’t have complete data from all countries. Similar hepatitis cases may have been “trickling along” for years, but the outbreak made them obvious.
