Another 2-year-old child died of mysterious hepatitis

Indonesia has just reported one more death of a 2-year-old child suspected of being related to unspecified hepatitis

The agency also announced another suspected case of an 8-month-old baby being treated for the disease.

Ismail Lubis, director of the Medan City Health Authority, said that the above patient died at St. Elisabeth after being treated for severe symptoms.

“The patient was admitted to the hospital with nausea, vomiting, fever, yellow eyes and loss of consciousness. To determine for sure if this patient had hepatitis, the agency sent a specimen to the University of Indonesia. for testing,” said Mr. Lubis.

Meanwhile, Adam Malik Central General Hospital is currently treating an infant with similar symptoms in an intensive care facility. “This patient is hospitalized unconscious with yellow skin, nausea and vomiting,” Fajrinur, an official at Adam Malik hospital, confirmed the incident.

Currently, the Indonesian Ministry of Health is investigating four deaths in children believed to be related to “mysterious” hepatitis: one in Tulungagung, East Java and three in Jakarta. Last week, a 2-month-old infant with symptoms of acute hepatitis died at Hermina Padang Hospital in the capital of West Sumatra province.

The Indonesian Ministry of Health said that there have been 15 confirmed cases of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in pediatric patients since the agency launched an investigation into the disease. The first five cases of children with acute hepatitis of unknown cause were discovered in October 2021 at a hospital in Alabama, USA, where they were admitted with liver damage.

Since then, more than 200 suspected and probable cases have been reported in 20 countries, including Indonesia. More than half of the cases are in the UK, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare an outbreak of “acute hepatitis of unknown cause” on April 15. Children are infected between 1 month and 16 years of age.

Mr. Muzal Kadim of the Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI) said that good personal hygiene, such as frequent hand washing and wearing of masks, as well as food safety, are still important factors to prevent inflammatory diseases. Acute liver disease in children. “The hepatitis virus is usually spread through saliva droplets and eating contaminated food,” said Kadim.

Ha Anh (According to Jakarta Post)