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VIVA – The World Health Organization or WHO has announced cases of acute hepatitis that have attacked children in America, Europe, and Asia since April 15, 2022.
A quoted by setkab.go.id, The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) through the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control (Dirjen P2P) issue a Circular Letter that concerning about Precautions for the Discovery of Acute Hepatitis of Unknown Aetiology. The letter was signed by the Director General (Dirjen) of P2P, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu on April 27, 2022.
"This letter is intended to increase support for local governments, health service facilities, Port Health Offices, health human resources (HR), and stakeholders regarding early awareness of cases of Acute Hepatitis of Unknown Etiology," stated the Circular Letter.
So, what is acute hepatitis? Who can get this disease? and what are the symptoms? So here are more facts about acute hepatitis that you should know, as quoted by the World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization, and the Ministry of Indonesia Health official site.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that is caused by a variety of infectious viruses and noninfectious agents leading to a range of health problems, some of which can be fatal. There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Meanwhile, acute hepatitis is a term used to describe a wide variety of conditions characterized by acute inflammation of the hepatic parenchyma or injury to hepatocytes resulting in elevated liver function indices.
1. The inflammation faster than usual
The reason why this hepatitis is added with the adjective 'acute', because the inflammation of the liver is faster than the previous types of hepatitis.
Laboratory tests were carried out and hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses were not found to be the cause of the disease. In some case, the infection can even become chronic. As stated above, WHO still has not found the answer to what causes it
Ilustrasi penderita hepatitis akut.
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2. Cases have been recorded in 20 countries
As of May 3, 2022, more than 200 cases of acute hepatitis have been reported from 20 countries. The majority of cases are from the United Kingdom. In addition to the United Kingdom, countries that have been reported to be affected by this disease include Spain, Israel, the United States, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Italy.
3. Acute Hepatitis occurs in children aged 1 month to 16 years
Based on a report from WHO, this acute hepatitis disease attacks children. Even in Jakarta, there are three children who died suspected of contracting acute hepatitis in the last two weeks until April 30, 2022. There are symptoms found in these patients were nausea, vomiting, severe diarrhea, fever, yellow skin and eyes, seizures, and decreased consciousness.
4. Declared as an Extraordinary Disease by WHO
Extraordinary disease or disease outbreak is one of the statuses applied to classify disease events that spread and can develop into outbreaks. This term is usually used as a warning before an outbreak occurs.
WHO has issued this warning and the public is advised to be vigilant about the spread of acute hepatitis. Alertness increased after the discovery of the cases of the three children who died.
5. Adenovirus type 41 was found
The name of this virus is said to be 'responsible' for the occurrence of cases of acute hepatitis.
A quoted from The Conversation, adenovirus is a virus that can infect both animals and humans. The name of these viruses comes from the tissue where they were originally isolated, namely the adenoids (mumps or tonsils).
Adenovirus has subtypes. The investigators identified this subtype 41 as being associated with acute hepatitis outbreaks. So far, adenovirus 41 has been found in around 74 cases.
Subtype 41 belongs to the adenovirus group which usually associated with gastroenteritis or stomach disorders such as diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. These signs are so far also a symptom of the onset of acute hepatitis.
