Three Indonesian Children Die from Mysterious Hepatitis; How Many Acute Hepatitis Cases Worldwide?

The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) reported that three children being treated at Dr. Ciptomangunkusumo National General Hospital in Jakarta died, allegedly due to acute hepatitis, the cause of which remains a mystery.

The three deceased patients died within the last two weeks, up to April 30, 2022. The Ministry of Health stated that it is still investigating the cause of the acute hepatitis through a series of comprehensive virus panel tests.

"During the investigation period, we urge the public to be cautious and remain calm," said the Ministry of Health spokesperson, Dr. Siti Nadia Tirmizi, in an official statement on Sunday (May 1, 2022).

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) recorded 169 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin from 11 countries in Europe and America as of April 21, 2022.

The details are as follows: 114 cases of acute hepatitis were reported from the United Kingdom. Spain and Israel reported 13 and 12 cases of acute hepatitis, respectively.

The United States recorded 9 cases of acute hepatitis. This was followed by Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands with 6, 5, and 4 cases of acute hepatitis, respectively.

Norway and France reported 2 cases of acute hepatitis each. Meanwhile, Romania and Belgium each reported 1 case of acute hepatitis.

The WHO suspects that one of the causes of the acute hepatitis infection is adenovirus. Adenoviruses are a large group of viruses that can infect animals and humans.

Furthermore, the WHO mentions adenovirus because they are commonly found in adenoids or tonsils. According to the WHO report, 74 out of the total 169 cases of hepatitis were confirmed to be caused by adenovirus.