The cases of the mysterious form hepatitis that “hits” the children seems to have peaked in Britainaccording to experts
Nearly 180 young people have fallen ill from the unusual form of liver disease in the last five months. The majority of cases have been identified in people under 5 years of age, who initially suffered from diarrhea and nausea before later developing jaundice – yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Scientists are still wondering what causes the disease, which has been identified in the United States, Western Europe and a few other countries. Globally, at least 12 young people have died and dozens have needed liver transplants.
Dr Tassos Grammatikopoulos, a consultant at King’s College Hospital in London who has treated some of the children affected, said that in the United Kingdom “they seem to have arrived at the peak levelOf the epidemic.
He said the cases seemed to be increasing a few weeks ago and now they have downward trend. However, he noted that some new cases are still being identified.
The professor Calum Semplea child health specialist at the University of Liverpool and a member of SAGE, claimed that high virus rates during the spring months are reduced as people spend more time outdoors.
He said this meant that the UK was facing a “slightly better summer as viruses and hopefully hepatitis cases are receding”.
Health officials said last week that there had been “some apparent reduction in confirmed cases over the past two weeks.”
However, the UK Health Insurance Team warned that the recession could be due to delays in reporting.
Speaking at a press conference today, Dr. Grammatikopoulos said: “We know at least now that we are in case reduction».
But he said, as with Covid, it was “very difficult to predict” what would happen in the future. “So this is something we have to think about,” he added.
Dr. Grammatikopoulos noted that the increase in hepatitis coincided with high rates of viral infections in all age groups, as well as record levels of adenovirus.
About 20 children get an unexplained case of hepatitis each year. But health officials had identified more children with hepatitis by spring than they would normally expect in a year.
About three-quarters of the 176 children affected by hepatitis in the UK tested positive for adenoviruses, the analysis shows.
The United Kingdom Health Insurance Agency (UKHSA) has acknowledged that others may have contracted the virus because of the way the tests are performed.
The researchers note that scientists are still investigating what exactly is behind the outbreak.
Leading experts fear that health officials will not understand what lies behind this bizarre outbreak of the virus – which has plagued at least 520 children worldwide since March – for months.
DAILY MAIL
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