4 Additional Suspected Cases of 'Unknown Cause Pediatric Acute Hepatitis'... Total 21 Cases in South Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Four additional suspected cases of 'acute pediatric hepatitis of unknown cause' have been reported in South Korea.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on the 26th that, after reviewing suspected cases of acute pediatric hepatitis of unknown cause reported between September 7 and 28, 4 out of 12 cases meeting the case definition were classified as suspected cases.

The case definition applies to pediatric and adolescent patients aged 16 or younger who visited medical facilities since May, with liver enzyme levels exceeding 500 IU per liter and who tested negative for hepatitis viruses A, B, C, and E.

According to expert review, 8 out of the 12 cases were estimated to be acute hepatitis caused by Kawasaki disease, enterovirus, coronavirus, adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, metapneumovirus, or respiratory syncytial virus.

However, the remaining 4 cases had no clear cause. Among these 4 suspected cases of acute pediatric hepatitis of unknown cause, adenovirus infection was confirmed in one case. The KDCA stated that most clinical courses were favorable, with no cases requiring liver transplantation or resulting in death.

Accordingly, the total number of suspected cases of acute pediatric hepatitis of unknown cause in South Korea since the first case in May this year is 21, with adenovirus confirmed in 3 of these cases. Since May, the KDCA has been operating a surveillance system for acute pediatric hepatitis of unknown cause in cooperation with the medical community and related academic societies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.