Hepatitis of Unknown Nature Found in 12 EU Countries - Health Commissioner

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Hepatitis of unknown nature has been detected in 12 European countries, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said on Wednesday.

“The EU is following this situation very closely. It is a concerning situation. As you possibly know, as of, I think about 25th of April, we now have confirmed approximately 40 cases in 12 member states,” Kyriakides said during a briefing.

According to the commissioner, so far the reported cases are affecting children from 1 month to 16 years old.

On Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported nearly 170 cases of hepatitis of unknown origin among children in 11 European countries. The age of the patients ranged from one month to 16 years. Approximately 10% of patients required liver transplantation. At least one death has been reported.

The WHO also specified that the common viruses that cause acute viral hepatitis, like hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E, have not been detected in any of the reported cases, while at least 20 of the patients were tested positive for COVID-19, and 19 had a COVID-19 and adenovirus co-infection.