Update on Hepatitis Cases of Unknown Cause in Children - HPSC
Science/Medical/Technology
Thursday 26th, May 2022
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has released it's latest update on the cases of hepatitis seen in children where the source is yet unknown.
There have been eight probable cases of children with hepatitis of unknown cause which have been identified in Ireland since March 2022 with a further small number under investigation the HPSC reports.
The children are said to have no links between them. Currently no single virus has been identified across all cases with investigations ongoing.
All probable cases are in children between the ages of 1 and 12 years of age and all have been hospitalised. With one child having received a liver transplant and one death being reported to be associated with this disease.
Information gathered from the UK investigations into the unknown cause of this disease points towards an adenovirus infection but this is still a theory being looked at.
There are no known links between any of the Irish cases and the UK cases, there is only one case in Ireland where a child had recent travel history to the UK before the onset of symptoms.
The common virus that causes hepatitis (hepatitis A, B, C and E) have not been detected in any of the cases. One area being explored is whether the hepatitis cases are linked to an increase in infections caused by adenovirus, a common cause of childhood and adult illnesses typically causing mild cold-like or flu-like illness, or diarrhoea.
HPSC reports, "Adenovirus infections rarely cause hepatitis. Other possible causes such as another infection (including COVID-19) or something in the environment are also being investigated. In Ireland, as in other countries, investigations are underway to determine if current or prior COVID-19 infection may increase the risk of this disease in some children. None of the Irish cases who were tested on admission to hospital had evidence of COVID-19 infection at that time.".
"The majority of the cases had not received COVID-19 vaccination. Ireland is liaising closely with ECDC, UK and WHO colleagues in efforts to identify the cause of this illness."
"GPs and paediatric consultants are aware of the recent increase in cases of hepatitis amongst children and will be alert to identify any further cases that may develop."
Details on symptoms of hepatitis and what to look out for are available on the HPSC website linked below.
There have been eight probable cases of children with hepatitis of unknown cause which have been identified in Ireland since March 2022 with a further small number under investigation the HPSC reports.
The children are said to have no links between them. Currently no single virus has been identified across all cases with investigations ongoing.
All probable cases are in children between the ages of 1 and 12 years of age and all have been hospitalised. With one child having received a liver transplant and one death being reported to be associated with this disease.
Information gathered from the UK investigations into the unknown cause of this disease points towards an adenovirus infection but this is still a theory being looked at.
There are no known links between any of the Irish cases and the UK cases, there is only one case in Ireland where a child had recent travel history to the UK before the onset of symptoms.
The common virus that causes hepatitis (hepatitis A, B, C and E) have not been detected in any of the cases. One area being explored is whether the hepatitis cases are linked to an increase in infections caused by adenovirus, a common cause of childhood and adult illnesses typically causing mild cold-like or flu-like illness, or diarrhoea.
HPSC reports, "Adenovirus infections rarely cause hepatitis. Other possible causes such as another infection (including COVID-19) or something in the environment are also being investigated. In Ireland, as in other countries, investigations are underway to determine if current or prior COVID-19 infection may increase the risk of this disease in some children. None of the Irish cases who were tested on admission to hospital had evidence of COVID-19 infection at that time.".
"The majority of the cases had not received COVID-19 vaccination. Ireland is liaising closely with ECDC, UK and WHO colleagues in efforts to identify the cause of this illness."
"GPs and paediatric consultants are aware of the recent increase in cases of hepatitis amongst children and will be alert to identify any further cases that may develop."
Details on symptoms of hepatitis and what to look out for are available on the HPSC website linked below.
