Revealed, how lockdown lef t children at risk of hepatitis
AN OUTBREAK of hepatitis among young children was caused by two common viruses that made a comeback after pandemic lockdowns, experts have said.
The outbreak of acute liver inflammation, first identified in Scotland earlier this year, struck 272 children in the UK, 12 of whom needed a liver transplant.
More than 1,000 children – many under five – in 35 countries are thought to have been affected.
Scientists from Scotland worked with experts across the globe to identify the cause, which they believe is linked to the common virus known as adeno-associated virus 2, or AAV2.
AAV2 does not cause disease on its own but often accompanies infection with adenoviruses, which can cause cold or flu-like illness.
There are occasional cases of hepatitis from this cause every year, but the cluster was down to a surge in adenovirus after lockdown ended and children started mixing again, the researchers believe.
Two new studies have been published, led by the University of Glasgow and London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital. Researchers found AAV2 was present in all nine cases in the Glasgow study and 94 per cent (16 of 17) of cases in the GOSH study. The Scottish study also examined the genetics of affected children. Researchers identified differences in the Human Leukocyte Antigen gene not commonly found in the control groups of healthy children, or in the genes of children with other forms of hepatitis.
The team said these genetic sequences may be linked to why some children have become seriously unwell. Professor Emma Thomson, of the University of Glasgow, said: ‘Larger studies are urgently needed to investigate the role of AAV2 in paediatric hepatitis cases. We also need to understand seasonal circulation of AAV2.’
Five-year-old Madison Duffy, from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, was admitted to hospital in May and developed jaundice.
Yesterday her mother, Chloe Benham, said: ‘She is fine now, but they still monitor her blood just to check it hasn’t come back.’
Speaking of the study, the 24-yearold said: ‘Lockdown, I think, has brought it all back out again but I’m glad that they’ve found it’s not something more serious.’
‘Larger studies urgently needed’