UK explores link between contact with dogs and mysterious hepatitis in children

UK health officials are examining the possibility of an increase in cases of severe hepatitis in children by dogs. UK Health Care Agency (UK Health Care Agency) Cases of mysterious hepatitis have risen from 18 to 163 last week, with 11 children requiring liver transplant surgery after their organs were severely damaged.

As this type of severe hepatitis is rarely seen in children, these cases have caused fear around the world.

According to the British newspaper TelegraphUK health officials believe adenovirus, which causes mild viral infections such as the common cold, is the primary suspect in pediatric liver infections.

But the Health Safety Agency reports that “a relatively high number” of infected children (70% of 93 surveyed) live in dog houses or had some other “exposure” to pets before they became ill. This relationship is valued by the British system.

The health agency warned that dog ownership was common in the UK and that the potential for this contamination could be difficult to quantify due to the lack of data on the number of dogs in families with small children.

Francois Baloux, a researcher at University College London, says it is difficult to think of a “rational explanation” for the link between exposure to pets and the appearance of hepatitis in children.

“Dogs carry their own adenovirus, which contains CAV-1, an animal liver virus, but there is no prior evidence that CAV-1 can infect humans.

Other possible causes
There are other theories that are being evaluated to explain the “outbreak” of the mysterious hepatitis disease that is affecting children around the world. Seven suspicious cases in Brazil.

One of them is that social isolation measures taken in Govt-19 infections may have weakened the immune system in children. They are less exposed to common microorganisms when they are isolated.

In this case, the corona virus is being investigated. So far, 14% of children infected with hepatitis in the UK have tested positive for Govt, and scientists have not ruled out the possibility of this infection occurring as a result.

Another possibility is that there is an “exceptionally large wave of adenovirus infections”, which means that very rare complications often occur or that it is a variant of the virus.