Peru issued an epidemiological alert for a mysterious hepatitis of unknown origin that affects children and has so far registered some 350 cases in the world, the government reported Tuesday.
The alert was decreed after the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed a week ago the existence of dozens of cases of severe acute hepatitis in more than 20 countries.
The objective of the official measure is to redouble prevention in hospitals to report any anomalous case of childhood hepatitis and was announced at a time when Peru It has been in a state of emergency for 26 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In the Americas, cases have been registered in the United States, while in our country no cases have been reported, and for this reason it is recommended that the countries of the region monitor the situation,” said the National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Disease Control of the Ministry of Health in a statement.
On April 5, the WHO was informed of 10 cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children under 10 years of age in Scotland. As of April 8, 74 cases had already been identified in the UK.
Cases totaled at least 348 worldwide this week, according to the WHO.
This hepatitis It produces jaundice, diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Some cases have required a liver transplant and at least four children have died.
The disease has manifested itself in children between one month and 16 years of age.
Most of the cases are reported in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, and their origin remains a mystery.
Common hepatitis viruses have not been detected in any of the cases, according to the WHO and the CEuropean Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
An analysis of these mysterious cases of hepatitis in USA led the country’s health authorities to think that its origin could be a common pathogen called adenovirus 41, although for now this remains a hypothesis.
Adenoviruses, normally trivial, cause respiratory problems, conjunctivitis or digestive problems. They are more frequent in winter and are easily transmitted in day care centers and schools. Most are infected before the age of 5 years.
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