Liver Disease Detected In Children: Organ Failure And Other Symptoms It Can Cause
Liver Disease Detected In Children: Organ Failure And Other Symptoms It Can Cause
Even as the world battles the deadly COVID-19 virus infection, dozens of severe cases of hepatitis were detected in children. With no known causes behind the surge in the condition, experts have termed it – ‘Mysterious liver disease’. First detected in Britain, this unknown liver disorder has now spread to the US and Europe. Last week, British officials reported 74 cases of hepatitis, or liver inflammation, found in children since January. Why is this a cause of worry? According to the officials, the usual virus that is found in the patients with hepatitis was not seen in the infected kids, which means the cause of the disease is new and unknown.
Some Even Underwent Liver Transplantation
Talking to the media about the mystery liver disease, Graham Cooke, a professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said, “Mild hepatitis is very common in children following a range of viral infections, but what is being seen at the moment is quite different.” He further added that some of the children in the U.K. have also required specialist care at liver units and a few have needed a liver transplant. “As many as nine kids under the age of 10 have tested positive for the virus, with two requiring liver transplants,” he said. Officials have also said that the affected children had gastrointestinal illness and even liver failure.
Symptoms You Should NEVER Ignore
The liver is the crucial organ of the body which helps in processing important nutrients in the body, filtering the blood and fighting foreign infections. According to the experts, when a child was found infected with mysterious liver disease, he or she had symptoms like:
Causes of Mysterious Liver Disease
While it’s unclear what’s causing the illnesses, a leading suspect is an adenovirus. Only some of the children tested positive for coronavirus, but the World Health Organization said genetic analysis of the virus was needed to determine if there were any connections among the cases. Officials have revealed that there are dozens who have adenoviruses, and these kids showed up with common cold-like symptoms, such as:
- Fever,
- Sore throat and
- Pink eye
The WHO noted that although there has been an increase in adenovirus in Britain, the potential role of those viruses in triggering hepatitis is unclear. WHO said there were fewer than five possible cases in Ireland and three confirmed cases in Spain, in children aged 22 months to 13 years. The U.N. health agency said that given the jump in cases in the past month and heightened surveillance, it was “very likely” more cases will be detected.
