Researchers have studied the possibility of several causes, which they have gradually narrowed down, being currently in the phase of approaching one that could be at the origin of this disease with an impact on children. Thus, this form of hepatitis could be the consequence of a co-infection between Covid-19 and adenovirus.
“Currently, we have managed to develop one of the options we initially pursued, namely Covid plus adenovirus,” Antonio Rivero-Juarez, a researcher in the field of infectious diseases, “Reina Sofia” University Hospital and the Institute for Investigations, explained to El Mundo biomedical Cordoba.
According to him, the appearance of this hepatitis could be related to the existence of a co-factor, which exacerbated the previous existence of a virus in the body. Thus, it is possible that all of these children had Covid-19 at some point. “They found that in children the coronavirus is dormant in their digestive system. Thus, in the digestive system there were reservoirs of viruses that, when in contact with other pathogens, such as adenovirus, multiplied the strength of the pathological mechanism, explains Antonio Rivero-Juarez.
This hypothesis was presented in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Covid-19 infection certainly creates a viral reservoir in the digestive system of children.
Some observations. It is difficult to scientifically confirm this hypothesis, as not all children have been serologically tested for Covid-19 in their bodies. Nor are there any studies to certify the very latent existence of coronavirus in children’s digestive tract, the researchers point out.
The authors of the study estimate that “ongoing serological tests are likely to show an increased number of children with severe acute hepatitis and a previous or current SARS-VOC-2 infection.
The World Health Organization has recorded more than 650 cases and 9 deaths caused by this form of hepatitis, the cause of which is still uncertain. In total, due to this disease in about 30 cases a liver transplant was needed. Since April, the number of cases has been rising in many countries.
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