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Date Published: 05/08/2022

ARCHIVED - Spain confirms deaths of 2 children due to hepatitis of unknown origin

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The victims are a six-year-old boy from Murcia and a 15-month-old baby from Andalucia

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spain confirms deaths of 2 children due to hepatitis of unknown origin

The Ministry of Health reported the tragic news on Thursday August 4 of the first two deaths associated with hepatitis of unknown origin in Spain. The young victims are a six-year-old boy from Murcia and a 15-month-old baby from Andalusia; both had undergone liver transplant operations which were sadly unsuccessful.

So far, of the 46 cases detected, three youngsters have required transplant surgery. The third, a three-year-old from Aragon, is believed to be recovering well.

The affliction, which is mainly affecting minors aged between 0 and 16 years, is running rampant across Europe and at the moment, the cause and origin remains a mystery. In reality, it’s not even known if this is a new disease or if it is just being picked up now through more rigorous testing.

The six-year-old boy developed symptoms on July 2 and on the 18th he was transferred to a Madrid hospital for a transplant. At the time he was in a serious condition with cerebral oedema and although he underwent a transplant on July 29, he passed away the following day.

The 15-month-old baby was admitted at the end of June with acute gastroenteritis with a positive culture for Adenovirus in a critical condition (encephalopathy and severe coagulopathy). He required an urgent liver transplant and also died within 24 hours.

The cases in Spain have been detected in 10 different regions but no relationship has been found between the patients. To date, 60% of those affected have been girls.

Of the 507 European infections registered, 273 have occurred in the United Kingdom, which is a far higher figure than normal. However, the health authorities in Spain insist that "so far, the number of cases of hepatitis of unknown cause in children and transplants observed in this alert are within those expected, according to estimates made with data from previous years."

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