Researchers have found that a virus that is not normally known to cause illness, coupled with the blockade’s weakening of the child’s immune system, may have led to the development of hepatitis.
Researchers in the United Kingdom believe they have identified the causes of acute liver damage affecting infants around the world.
Sudden onset hepatitis
Two new studiesAlthough not yet peer-reviewed, it was published under the leadership of the University of Glasgow and the Great Ormond Street Hospital for London (GOSH). The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also worked with them.
It is believed that more than 1,000 children (mostly under the age of 5) were affected in 35 countries.
In the UK, most of the 268 children with sudden onset hepatitis are under the age of 5, and nearly 40% of children taken to hospital require intensive care. Twelve children in the United Kingdom needed a liver transplant due to rapid liver deterioration.
This study found that the outbreak was associated with the common adeno-associated virus 2, AAV2. The virus is usually not known to cause illness and is often associated with adenovirus infection, but scientists now know that it is associated with the development of acute hepatitis in a small number of infants. increase.
AAV2 was present at high levels in all but one sample of patients with unexplained hepatitis, so researchers found that AAV2 and adenovirus, or rarely herpesvirus HHV6 (also found in the sample), 2 I believe in co-infection with two viruses. From some patients) — May provide the best explanation for the development of severe liver disease in affected children.
But researchers said it’s still unclear why this is happening now.
Both teams emphasized that a peak of adenovirus infection in the general population after the blockade may have led to this through weakened immunity of children to certain viruses and altered patterns of viral circulation.
Both studies were able to rule out the possibility of recent or previous COVID-19 infection as a direct cause of hepatitis cases.
Dr. Clare Craig, a diagnostic pathologist at HART, an organization established in April to share concerns about policies and guidance recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, said such cases could result in blockades. Said there was. The natural course of viral infection.
At the time, she said: “What we did in the blockade was that it greatly confused the way we interacted with each other and, as a result, interfered with the microorganisms and the way they spread to each other.”
“Since the beginning of 2021, Hart has expressed concern about the blockade leading to weakened immunity and reduced susceptibility to infectious diseases,” Craig told The Epoch Times.
AAV2
Professor Emma Thomson, senior author of Scottish research and an infectious disease expert, said:
“We also need to understand more about the seasonal circulation of AAV2, a virus that is not regularly monitored. The peak of adenovirus infection coincides with the peak of AAV2 exposure, and abnormal hepatitis in susceptible infants. It may be causing the symptoms, “Thomson said.
PA Media contributed to this report.