There are a total of 11 reports on cases of unknown pediatric acute hepatitis , arriving so far from various Italian regions (Abruzzo, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Lombardy, Marche, Sicily, Tuscany and Veneto). This was announced by the Ministry of Health in a circular sent today to the regions, health facilities and doctors, specifying that two cases are already confirmed.
In addition to them, there are four "suspects" (examinations are currently underway or not defined) and two "possible" (over 10 years of age), one of whom had a transplant.
Among the hypotheses currently being verified there is that of a link with Covid-19 or with other forms of viral infections, such as that from adenovirus, even if a positivity for adenovirus or for SARS-CoV-2 has so far only been reported in two suspected cases. "The role of adenoviruses in these forms hypothesized in the UK is not confirmed," he adds.
"NO LINKS WITH VACCINES" - As for the alleged links with the coronavirus vaccination campaign, "no link with the Covid-19 vaccine has been identified and a questionnaire administered to cases, on food and personal habits, did not identify no common exposure. Although laboratory investigations ruled out a type A, B, C, D and E viral etiology in all cases, UK health authorities consider the infectious hypothesis the most likely, given the epidemiological picture and the clinical characteristics of the cases. Toxicological investigations have also been started and are in progress ".
The Ministry of Health urges the reporting of any case of acute hepatitis: "It is recommended, in this phase, wanting to favor sensitivity over specificity, to evaluate and possibly also report cases partially corresponding to the definition of the case. It is also recommended to foresee in any case, the conservation of biological samples to allow any other possible assessment deemed necessary ".
IL BIMBO DI PRATO - Among the patients under examination there is a 3-year-old boy residing in Prato: after being admitted to the Meyer hospital in Florence he was transported to the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital in Rome, for fear of having to subject him to a liver transplant then averted.
"The child arrived with a respiratory crisis and pain in the abdomen: he was hospitalized on Wednesday evening and suddenly got worse on Thursday morning. He had no symptoms attributable to hepatitis. understood that it could be a suspected case of pediatric acute hepatitis ", explained Pier Luigi Vasarri, the head of pediatrics at the Santo Stefano di Prato hospital who treated the little one.
The disease affects children under the age of ten and around the world there have been about a hundred cases, of which about seventy in the United Kingdom and nine in the United States. Every year there are cases of hepatitis whose origin is not known but it is the frequency of these reports that triggered the alert. Common symptoms include yellowing of the skin and sclera of the eyes, pain in the upper right side of the abdomen, nausea and vomiting.
(Unioneonline / D)