After the announcement of the first four cases of childhood hepatitis detected in Mexicoin the state of New Lion and being classified as worrying by the World Health Organization, there are some recommendations that can help avoid contagion.
Although there is still no certain knowledge of how the disease originates, it is suspected that it may have origin in F41 adenoviruseswhich has been linked to gastroenteritis in children.
Read more: First four cases of childhood hepatitis detected in Mexico in Nuevo León
Childhood hepatitis symptoms tend to worsen quickly.
How to avoid childhood hepatitis already detected in Mexico
According to various official pages of health organizations such as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the ways to prevent infectious diseasesas suspected childhood hepatitis may be, are:
- Frequent hand washing
- Use of disposable tissues
- Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing
These, together with good ventilation and the use of masks in closed places, prevent the spread of viruses.
Symptoms of acute childhood hepatitis
- Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting in the preceding weeks.
- Jaundice, the yellowish coloration of the skin and especially the whites of the eyes.
- Generally absent of fever.
- Cases can occur in children as young as two years old and as young as 16 years old.
- Sometimes dark urine, light-colored stools or itchy skin may appear.
Children who present these symptoms should be taken to the pediatrician to be assessed and, where appropriate, referred to a specialized institution.
The appearance of this disease has been classified as “worrying” by the World Health Organization, which has reported the presence of 348 cases in the world, most of them in European countries.
This rare disease is already present in 20 countries and another 70 additional cases have been reported in 13 other nations and a diagnosis is awaited to confirm them.
Read more: Confirmed cases of acute hepatitis in 20 countries: WHO
WHO figures indicate that only six countries have more than five cases, while the UK reports 160 cases.
In some patients, hepatitis becomes so severe that a transplant is required to control it.
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