In a Friday statement, the World Health Organization said that there have been more than three times as many cases reported of children with severe acute hepatitis.
The number of cases has risen to 920 worldwide, up from 270 in the organization’s previous report late last month.
According to the WHO, this number could be higher.
In April, Britain first reported 10 cases of mysterious liver disease in children aged under 10.
There have been 33 reported cases, most of them coming from Britain or the USA. According to WHO, liver transplants were required by 45 children and they have since died in 18 cases.
There are many causes of hepatitis in children, which include infection by the Hepatitis A virus or exposure to medications such as paracetamol. Researchers now believe that the increase in hepatitis could be linked to Covid-19 and adenoviruses. However, more research is required to identify the cause.
Tali Bogler, the Chair of Family Medicine Obstetrics at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, told Reuters that one of the theories suggests that children were “not as exposed to viruses during the pandemic.”She said that there are other theories suggesting the increase in cases of hepatitis may be due to a post-infection syndrome.
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