The Canadian Public Health Agency (PHAC) has confirmed 10 cases of acute severe hepatitis in children.
The agency published an update on its website on Friday, confirming three cases in Alberta, two in Manitoba, four in Ontario and one in Quebec.
Children between the ages of one and 13 fell ill between November 3, 2021 and April 23, 2022, according to the PHAC.
Read more: Leading hypothesis for adenovirus for severe hepatitis in children, says CDC
All diagnosed children were hospitalized. Two of them needed a liver transplant. No deaths have been reported so far.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Depending on the cause, the agency says the disease could be sudden and progress to liver failure in a few days to weeks.
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“Some types of hepatitis can be treated and most cases recover. Acute, severe hepatitis in children is a rare disease in Canada and in many cases is not a known underlying or contributing cause, the website said.
What causes severe acute hepatitis in children?
The health agency says the exact cause of the disease is not yet known, and investigators are still considering possible causes of acute hepatitis.
However, one possible cause that is being studied is adenovirus, a common virus known to cause colds or flu-like illness or gastroenteritis in children who are infected.
Researchers are also investigating other possible contributing factors, such as exposure to toxins or other infections.
4:25 Health Matters: World Family Physician’s Day and what causes severe hepatitis in children? Health issues: World Family Physician’s Day and what causes severe cases of hepatitis in children?
Could COVID-19 be the cause of hepatitis in children?
COVID-19 may be behind severe cases of hepatitis in children, according to a report published last Saturday in medRxiv before a peer review.
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Children with COVID-19 are at significantly increased risk of liver dysfunction thereafter, the report said.
However, most children with acute hepatitis did not report a previous COVID-19 infection. Instead, they were found to be infected with an adenovirus called 41F, which is not known to attack the liver.
READ MORE: Canada finds severe cases of hepatitis of “unknown origin” in children. What is?
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It is possible that affected children, many of whom were too young to be vaccinated, had mild or asymptomatic COVID infections that went unnoticed, suggested a separate team of researchers at The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
If true, retained coronavirus particles in the gastrointestinal tract in these children may prepare the immune system to overreact to adenovirus-41F with large amounts of inflammatory proteins that ultimately damage the liver, the researchers theorize.
However, side effects from COVID-19 vaccines are not suspected, as most of the children affected were too young to receive COVID-19 vaccines, according to the World Health Organization.
The government has provided a list of symptoms that parents should look for in their children on their website.
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These include yellowing of the skin or eyes, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, light stools, loss of appetite, fever and fatigue.
The government also advises parents to encourage children to wash their hands often, avoid sick people and avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
What does the Canadian Health Agency do?
PHAC says it is working with provinces, territories and international partners to investigate all reported cases of acute severe hepatitis in children that are not caused by known hepatitis viruses.
“All provinces and territories are working to identify and report potential cases of PHAC. “This will help further define Canada’s national scope and help determine whether cases in Canada are related to other cases reported worldwide,” the agency said.
READ MORE: 348 possible cases of acute hepatitis in children reported worldwide: WHO
The agency does not currently know if there has been a jump in cases of acute severe hepatitis in children “who are not caused by known hepatitis viruses.”
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“We are analyzing hospitalization data in Canada to determine the number of cases we would normally see in Canada over time. This basic information will allow us to determine whether we are seeing an increase in reported cases, “the agency said.
0:32 WHO says at least 228 possible cases of childhood hepatitis have been reported, already under investigation WHO says at least 228 possible cases of childhood hepatitis have been reported, already under investigation – May 3, 2022 .
Severe cases of hepatitis worldwide
Reuters reported on May 20 that at least 600 children in at least 34 countries had developed cases of sudden severe liver inflammation or acute hepatitis.
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As of May 18, at least 175 children in the United Kingdom and 180 in the United States have been ill since October 2021, most of them under the age of five.
2:24 7 probable cases of severe acute hepatitis in children reported at SickKids Hospital in Toronto 7 probable cases of severe acute hepatitis in children reported at SickKids Hospital in Toronto – May 10, 2022.
In the United States, more than 90% of affected children are hospitalized. Most have recovered, but at least five have died, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, more than two dozen children have needed a liver transplant.
Most cases have been registered since April.
– With files from Reuters
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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