Reasons to stay calm with “mysterious” acute hepatitis in children
“If it’s Adeno, run away from the sun”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of May 7, there were about 300 children infected with acute hepatitis in 20 countries, 9 children died. The disease appears in children from one month old to 16 years old, the cause is unknown, the case was recorded in a place with high density of adeno virus.
Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Infectious Diseases Association, said that if these cases of acute hepatitis appeared in poor countries, people would accept it as a common case of acute hepatitis without knowing it. exact cause.
However, these mysterious cases of hepatitis in children this time, first appeared in advanced countries, so the health sector has the capacity to test to confirm. To date, the biggest suspicion has focused on the adenovirus type 41, which causes unusually acute hepatitis in young children.
Doctor Truong Huu Khanh said that if the Adeno virus was the cause of the mysterious acute hepatitis, this virus would certainly have spread to many people in the country with endemic cases.
When the Adeno virus attacks, some people have abdominal pain, diarrhea, respiratory inflammation, sometimes the virus “jumps” into the liver, causing the patient to develop hepatitis. In the case of Adeno causing hepatitis in young children, most of them recovered on their own, but there was a proportion (unidentified) with acute hepatitis, liver transplantation or death.
However, the numbers reported worldwide show that the number of children infected and critical is not much. To date, about 300 cases have been reported, most of which have recovered.
“If it really is the Adeno virus, we won’t be able to stop it, we can’t run away from the sun. Adeno spreads through respiratory droplets, so it will arrive in Vietnam quickly. So when the virus comes, what should we do? Only wash your hands and wear a mask properly,” said Doctor Khanh.
He added, in the case of a virus invasion, if the Vietnamese people’s body is not attacked by Adeno much in the liver, the infected person will have flu-like symptoms.
The risk group is young children with special backgrounds, with metabolic diseases or with pre-existing hepatitis B, the attack of the adeno virus will cause more serious liver damage. Children are required to be treated in the hospital like other acute viral hepatitis cases, to help the liver recover gradually.
However, parents absolutely do not let children take drugs arbitrarily. For example, if a child with hepatitis is given Paracetamol, the liver will be damaged immediately, and the disease will be more serious.
Doctor Khanh advises parents not to panic. Most importantly, parents need to take the child to the hospital immediately when the child has generalized jaundice or dark urine.
“Whether acute hepatitis is mysterious or not, children with the above signs must go to the hospital for treatment by a liver specialist,” he said.
Immediately report unusual cases of acute hepatitis
Faced with the above situation, the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City has requested medical facilities, especially pediatric hospitals, to strengthen detection of cases of children with acute hepatitis.
Hospitals need to consult with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) to collect information and samples, conduct PCR testing, metagenomics techniques to find infectious agents. such as adenovirus and other agents (if any).
Previously, the Department of Preventive Medicine, the Ministry of Health asked the Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Pasteur Institute to closely monitor, summarize the situation, and analyze the epidemiology of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in the world. .
Simultaneously, coordinate with localities to take samples and test cases of suspected acute hepatitis of unknown cause, report, assess risk, and propose prevention measures.
Localities focus on hepatitis B vaccination activities for infants, children under one year of age and other high-risk groups, ensuring safety and achieving the coverage rate according to the planned targets. .
In Southeast Asia, mysterious acute hepatitis has been reported with 3 deaths. Specifically, the Indonesian Ministry of Health on May 2 reported that 3 children died from acute hepatitis of unknown cause. These children present with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, severe diarrhea, fever, jaundice, convulsions, and loss of consciousness.
Previously, on April 30, Singapore’s Ministry of Health confirmed that a 10-month-old boy had acute hepatitis of unknown cause. Test results showed that the child was negative for common hepatitis viruses.
Linh Giao
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vietnamnet.vn – Read the original article here
