A mystery liver disease that has afflicted kids in more than a dozen locations has now spread to Asia, with a case recorded in Japan.
Local authorities in Japan reported a case of acute hepatitis – or inflammation of the liver – of unknown origin on April 21 in a youngster who tested negative for adenovirus – a suspected cause under investigation worldwide – and Covid-19.
The patient had not received a liver transplant, according to the health ministry, which did not provide any other information on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced that it was examining cases of severe acute hepatitis in young children of unknown origin.
It didn’t say how many cases there were or where they were found.
So far, 190 unexplained instances of severe hepatitis in children have been recorded around the world, with 140 of them in Europe, predominantly in the United Kingdom.
Cases have also been discovered in Israel and the United States.
Seventeen children need liver transplants as a result of their illness.
The first instances in the United States were discovered in October in Alabama, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued a nationwide health alert last week.
The first occurrences in the United Kingdom were reported in January.
According to the World Health Organization, at least one fatality has been linked to the outbreak.
The instances were documented in kids aged one month to sixteen years, according to the UN health agency.
One possibility being studied by the UK Health Security Agency is that during the coronavirus epidemic, children were not exposed to the common adenovirus, which generally causes stomach upsets and colds, resulting in more severe sickness.
In the UK, 40 (75%) of the 53 cases tested revealed evidence of viral infection.
Because none of the hepatitis-affected children had received the Covid-19 vaccine, UK officials concluded there was “no link” between both the cases and the vaccine.