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Date Published: 12/05/2022

Spain records third highest number of child hepatitis cases in Europe

Spain has confirmed 22 cases, behind only the United Kingdom and Italy

As the number of confirmed cases of severe hepatitis in children rack up around the globe, data from the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) has revealed that Spain now has the third highest incidence in Europe. After registering 22 cases, Spain is now only surpassed by the United Kingdom, with 163 and Italy, with 35.

This is a dramatic increase on the last report in April, when only 13 cases had been diagnosed in minors aged between 11 months and 5 years.

At that point, the Minister of Health attempted to quell the rising panic by insisting that the number was no higher than in other years, and the WHO agreed, adding that more investigation was needed to determine if there has been a global rise, or if more cases are simply being diagnosed.

“It is being assessed whether the cases detected in Spain represent an unusual increase in unknown cases of hepatitis with respect to those detected in previous years or whether they present differential characteristics with the cases that are usually identified,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Within the EU, a total of 106 cases have been diagnosed, with Sweden (9), Portugal (8) and the Netherlands and Denmark (both with 6) coming in behind Spain and Italy. Outside of the European Union, the UK leads the number of cases with 163, followed by the US (at least 109), Brazil (16), Indonesia (15) and Israel (12), according to the ECDC report.

To date, the cases of this rare childhood hepatitis around the world amount to 450 and sadly, 11 children have already lost their lives.

Image: Pixabay

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