Many countries around the world have recorded a worrying increase in children suffering from acute hepatitis of unknown cause, the Ministry of Health said that through surveillance so far, no cases of hepatitis have been recorded in Vietnam currently, but the risk of invasive disease is very high.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health required related agencies to closely monitor, summarize the situation, and analyze the epidemiology of acute hepatitis of unknown cause in the world. Moreover, these bodies must coordinate with localities to take samples and test cases of suspected acute hepatitis of unknown cause and immediately report unusual cases.
However, Dr. Nguyen Nguyen Huyen said that scientists have not entirely certain that the disease is caused by Adenovirus, but may be caused by a mutated strain, so it is difficult to grasp this virus based on conventional techniques.
Therefore, it is necessary to wait for more information from experts around the world to find out what virus this hepatitis is caused by, what agent is, and whether there is a mutation or not. From there, there is a specific gene segment to test to find the exact cause of the disease, said Doctor Huyen.
Health experts recommend that if parents see their children have abdominal pain, nausea, or diarrhea, they should take the child to a doctor to see if the child has liver damage so that their kids can receive timely treatment. Parents were advised not to self-medicate their children but to pay attention to improving personal hygiene for children such as frequent hand sanitizer, washing hands before eating and after going to the toilet, eating cooked food and drinking boiled water.
According to the WHO, while scientists are working to verify the real cause of the new acute hepatitis outbreak in children, the most popular preventative measures for adenovirus and other common infections are frequent hand washing and sanitation.
Adenovirus can cause disease in many different organs in the body such as the respiratory tract, digestive tract, and eyes, especially in children. Among the groups of viruses that cause disease, Adenovirus is the most common and most likely to cause disease in group B.
