Suspected mysterious hepatitis is a complication after Covid-19

As of May 15, the world has recorded 450 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in 25 countries, of which 12 patients died.

According to new research published in the journal The Lancet, the disease may be related to Covid-19. Currently, cases of acute hepatitis have been recorded in Europe, the US, Israel, Japan, Indonesia…

Most pediatric patients present with gastrointestinal instability, followed by jaundice and, in some cases, acute liver failure. However, the test does not detect the common hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E.

Experts say that the recent cases of acute hepatitis in children may be the result of Covid-19 infection, followed by adenovirus infection after a viral reservoir appeared in the intestinal tract.

After a person has Covid-19, the SARS-CoV-2 virus reservoir can lead to overactivation of immune cells, causing Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). If there is such a viral reservoir and subsequent infection of the child with adenovirus, it will lead to immunological abnormalities such as acute severe hepatitis.

Isabella Eckerle, co-director of the Center for New Viral Diseases at Geneva University Hospital (Switzerland), said that the possibility of acute hepatitis in children after being infected with Covid-19 cannot be ruled out.

The persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the infant’s gastrointestinal tract results in a continuous release of viral proteins in intestinal epithelial cells. That abnormal immune cell activation has been identified as the mechanism that induces MIS-C.

MIS-C has raised widespread concern since April 2020. Patients with this syndrome experience inflammation in multiple organs including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, stomach, and liver, which can even lead to multi-organ failure and in severe cases death.

Israel recently reported cases of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in 12 children. 11 of them have contracted Covid-19 within the past year.

Health experts note, severe Covid-19 infection has the potential to cause liver damage. That means unexplained hepatitis could be one of the long-term symptoms of Covid-19.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe on May 13 reported that 70% of mysterious hepatitis cases in the region had been infected with Covid-19.

Among pediatric patients monitored for progression, the rate of severe cases was up to 15.4%. Of the cases with Covid-19 vaccination data, nearly 84% were unvaccinated.

Health experts have expressed concern about the risk of a new virus spreading uncontrollably among children, who are largely unvaccinated, and post-Covid-19 complications are still unknown.

An Yen (According to Global Times)