Hospitals warned to be on lookout for hepatitis in children

The Catalan health department has told hospitals to be on the lookout for a possible surge in hepatitis in children under the age of 10 after numerous cases were detected in the United Kingdom and three were diagnosed in other parts of Spain.

There are no known cases of children with the condition in Catalonia, and while pediatric hepatologist Cristina Molera of Barcelona's Sant Joan de Déu Hospital says this warning should not be cause for alarm in society, it does mean doctors should be more alert for possible cases here.

"Some children have few symptoms of hepatitis or none at all and we detect them through routine blood tests," Molera told the Catalan News Agency.  

"Most frequently symptoms are not very specific to the condition, such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, but specific symptoms include jaundice," she said. Other symptoms include choluria (urine that has been darkened due to the presence of bile), pale stools, or itchy skin. 

For now, Molera argued, health and safety measures that have intensified since the pandemic hit, such as hand washing, should be enough as the cause of these cases and whether they have spread from one country to another remains unknown. 

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as of April 12, there were 74 instances of hepatitis among children that were being investigated. It is unusual, Molera explained, for kids to be affected as well as for the incidence rate to have increased significantly in a short period of time. 

Hepatitis, the inflammation of the liver, can be caused by viral infections as well as by heavy alcohol use, certain drugs, exposure to chemical substances, or autoimmune disorders. 

While what has caused the condition among British children has not yet been able to be determined, Molera believes it is more likely to do with an infection or toxins rather than an autoimmune disorder. This, she is quick to highlight, is only "a hypothesis."