Sweden reports 9 cases of unexplained acute hepatitis in children
STOCKHOLM, May 10 (Xinhua) – Nine children in Sweden have fallen ill with suspected acute hepatitis for no apparent reason, the country’s public health authority said on Tuesday.
“It is very unusual, but it happens that a child suffers from acute hepatitis with an unknown cause. The public health authority is investigating whether the cases we see now represent an increase in acute hepatitis with an unknown cause or not,” state epidemiologist Anders Det Lindblom says in a press release.
All nine children fell ill between November and April this year and caregivers have now been urged to be vigilant should they encounter similar cases. In addition to jaundice, the nine cases also had symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, pale stools and nausea.
Similar cases of hepatitis for no apparent reason have recently been reported from several countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark.
The Swedish Public Health Agency has reported the Swedish cases to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to be part of an ongoing investigation to find out if there is a common denominator.
According to the ECDC, laboratory tests have ruled out viral hepatitis type A, B, C, D and E in any case. A large proportion of the reported cases in the UK and some other countries have tested positive for adenovirus.