(Ottawa) No cases of occult hepatitis in children have yet been detected in Canada, but Public Health Canada is monitoring the situation. Cases of this infection, first identified in the United Kingdom, have been reported in other European countries and in the United States.
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It is acute hepatitis of unknown origin. Ten cases were first detected in children under the age of 10 in central Scotland on April 5, according to the World Health Organization. Three days later, 74 cases were detected across the UK.
“We are monitoring the situation and, to date, no Canadian cases have been reported to Public Health Canada,” Health Canada said by email.
The five viruses that commonly cause hepatitis were excluded after laboratory testing. Experts are now examining other potential sources. Some suspect that the adenovirus is the source of the infection.
Cases were recently identified in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control did not specify how many cases had been identified.
The infection can cause serious symptoms. Some British patients required specialist care, and a few had to get a new liver.
With the Associated Press
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