The Ministry of Health recommends ways to prevent “mysterious” acute hepatitis in children – Life Health

The disease occurs in children from 1 month to 16 years old, most patients recover completely, however, there are some severe cases, nearly 10% of cases require liver transplantation.

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The Ministry of Health has just sent a dispatch to the Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur; Departments of Health of provinces and cities are on duty to monitor cases of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in children.

According to updated information from the World Health Organization, as of May 7, 2022, more than 300 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in children worldwide have been recorded in 23 countries in the European region. , Americas, Southeast Asia, Western Pacific, in which there have been 09 deaths.

According to the recommendation of the Ministry of Health, the temporary prevention of “mysterious” hepatitis in children, in the immediate future, focuses on measures such as ensuring personal hygiene and prevention; Wash your hands often with soap and common antiseptic solutions, cover your mouth when sneezing.

The disease occurs in children from 1 month to 16 years old, most patients recover completely, however, there are some severe cases, nearly 10% of cases require liver transplantation.

According to the World Health Organization, a possible case (surveillance case) is a child under 16 years of age presenting with acute hepatitis (not caused by hepatitis A, B, C, D, E virus) with yeast infection. liver increased over 500 IU/l (SGOT or SGPT) and symptom onset time from October 1, 2021 to present.

At present, the exact cause of acute hepatitis in children mentioned above has not been determined, investigations and studies of acute hepatitis of unknown cause are underway.

To actively monitor cases of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in Vietnam and promptly implement measures to prevent and minimize the number of cases and deaths; The Ministry of Health requested the Department of Health to focus on directing the following contents, specifically:

The medical facilities in the area in charge when detecting cases of acute hepatitis, especially in the group of children under 16 years of age, must examine and determine to detect cases of unknown cause (according to the case definition). diseases of the World Health Organization).

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam requested the Ministry of Health to exchange and update information with WHO about acute hepatitis in children in order to proactively have a response plan, prepare human resources, vehicles and materials. , equipment for prevention and treatment.