"Unknown Cause Pediatric Acute Hepatitis, 8 Suspected Reports in Korea... No Actual Cases"

3 out of 8 cases do not meet the case definition
4 cases identified causative pathogens...1 case showed short-term recovery

▲[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Although suspected cases of unexplained pediatric acute hepatitis, which have spread in Europe and the United States, were also reported in South Korea, it has been confirmed that none of these cases met the criteria for actual cases.

At a briefing on the 28th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters explained that through the surveillance system for unexplained pediatric acute hepatitis, which has been in operation since last month, eight suspected cases were reported by the 12th of this month, but none were similar to the cases reported in Europe and the United States.

Among the eight reported cases, three did not meet the case definition. The case definition designated by the health authorities for unexplained pediatric acute hepatitis is: ▲ patients aged 16 or younger who visited since May ▲ liver enzyme levels (AST or ALT) exceeding 500 IU/L ▲ not caused by hepatitis viruses A, B, C, or E.

After in-depth review by experts of the remaining five cases, the causative pathogens of acute hepatitis were identified in four cases. Three cases were Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and one case was Escherichia coli (E. coli). Kwak Jin, Director of the Infectious Disease Control Division at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained, "EBV is a virus that is very common in our environment and is known to infect over 80% of Koreans by adulthood."

In the remaining one case, no specific pathogen was detected. However, since adenovirus, which is suspected as the cause of the disease in Europe and the United States, was not detected in this case, and the patient recovered relatively quickly, the health authorities judged that it did not correspond to the type of acute hepatitis reported in Europe and the United States.

Unexplained pediatric acute hepatitis was first reported in early April in the United Kingdom and has since been confirmed in countries worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of the 22nd, a total of 920 cases have occurred in 33 countries including European countries, the United States, and Japan, with 18 deaths reported.