Video: Boston doctor describes severity of pediatric hepatitis cases
Updated: 10:35 AM EDT May 14, 2022
PEDIATRICIANS OFFICEOR F HELP. WELL EMERGENCY ROOMS IN BOSTON AND NATION. DON’T KNOW ON ALERTOR F THE EARLY SIGNS OF HEPATITIS AND OTHERWISE HEALTHY CHILDREN HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IS DR. RAYMOND CHUNG DIRECTOR OF HEPATOLOGY AND LIVER CENTER FOR SSMA GENERAL HOSPITAL DR. CHUNG. THANK YOU SO MUCHOR F JOINING US THIS MORNING. WE WANT TO GET RIGHT TO THE QUESTIONS. WE NOW KNOW TTHA TWO PATIENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS ARE PART OF THE CDC’S INVESTIGATION INTO THIS OUTBREAK HOW SERIOUS ARE THESE CASES? AND DO WE KNOW HOW IT’S SPREADING? YE,AH YES, ABSOLUTELY UP FIRST AND FOREMOST. I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THESE ARE RARE CASES THE NUMBER JUST OVER A HUNEDDR THE UNITED STATES AND HAVE BEEN FOUND IN ABOUT HALF OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES HERE IN THE USND A IN THE WORLD NUMBER ABOUT 450 CASES. SO JUST FOR FOR CONTRAST COMPARE THIS TO THE MILLIONS OF CAS OESF COVID-19 THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED IN CHILDREN NOW THESE CASES VEHA THE PREVIOUSLY HEALTHY CHILDREN UERND THE AGE OF 10 NOW AS RARES. THEY HAVE BEEN THESE ILLNESSES ARE SERIOUS, AND THEY CAUSE SIGNIFICT ANINFORMATION INFORMATION AND DAMAGE TO THE LIVER. 90% OF THESE CASES HAVE RESULTED IN HOSPITALIZATION 14% HAVE REQUIRED LIVER TRANSPLANTATION AND FIVE HAVE UNFORTUNATELY DIED. REGARDING MODE OF SPREAD THE BEST EVIDENCE IS THAT THIS IS DUE TO VIRAL INFECTI,ON BUT UNLIKE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS OR TRANSMISSIBLE. THIS IS LIKE COVID THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A HIGHLY TRANSMISSIBLE ILLNESS IN SO FAR AS THE NUMBERS OF CASESS I A JUST STATED HAVE BEEN SO RARE. SOME MYSTERY TO IT THOUGH. WHY ARE HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVING TROUBLE IDENTIFYING THE CAUSE? WELL, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT THESE CASES ARE NOT RELATED TO COMMON HEPATITIS VIRUSES SUCH AS HEPATITIS A B OR C THE BEST EVIDENCE OF THUS FAR SUPPORTS A LINK TO A COMMON VIRUS KNOWN AS ADENOVUSIR WHICH CAN CAUSE A RESPIRATORY OR GASTROINTESTINAL ILLNESSES. IT IS RARELY BEEN LINKED TO HEPATITIS. AND TTHA IS HISTORICALLY TYPICALLY BNEE LINKED TO PERSONS WITH IMMUNE COMPROMISE. SO THE FINDING THAT ADENOVIRUS INFECTION MAY NOW BE ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE LIVERY AND PREVUSIOLY HEALTHY CHILDREN IS UNUSUAL AND NOT YET EXPLAINED. NOW HOW THE CASE FOR ADENOVIRUS ASHE T CAUSE ISOT N YET IRONCLAD EVIDENCE OF ATIVIRUS INFECTION HAS BEEN FOUND ABOUT0% 7 OF CASES SO FAR, BUT NOT IN ALL CASES INCLUDING THE TWO CASES DESCRIBED IN MASSACHUSETTS. WHETHER THEEM RAINING CASES REFLECT OTHER CAUSESR O POSSIBLE LIMITATIONS IN THE ACCURACY OF TESTING FRED NAVARAS REALLY REMAINS TO BE ESTABLISHED. SO SOME OF THESE OTHER CAUSES COULD INCLUDE OTHER INFECTIONS THAT HAVE YET TO BE TESDTE FOR OR POTENTIALLY TOXIC OR MEDICATION EXPOSURES. SO INTENSIVE WORK IS UNDERWAY TO EVALUATE SAMPLES FROM AS MANY AFFECTED CHILDREN AS POSSIBLE TRY TO HONE IN ON A COMMON CULPRIT. SO MUCH TO SORT TOUHRGH OF COURSE, AS YOU KNOW A LOT OF PARENTS WILL HEAR THE WORD VIRUS AND IMMEDIATELY THINK OF COVID-19. DO YOU TNKHI THERE COULD BE ANY CONNECTION THERE? REALLY? THERE’S VERY LITTLE EVIDENCE AT PRESENT TO SUPPORT COVID-19S A SOMEHOW RELATED TO THESE CASES. FIRST THE SIGNIFICANTAJ MORITY OF CASES. THUS FAR HAVE HAD NO EVIDENCE FOR ACTIVE COVID INFECTION. AND WHETHER A PRIOR HISTORYF O CODE INFECTION HAS ANY INFLUENCE ON THE ON THESE CASES IS REALLY THE SUBJECT OF ACTIVE INVESTIGATION WNO ASOR F ANY RELATIONSHIP TO COVID VACCINATION THE CDC HAS NOTED THAT THE MOST OF THE CHILDREN AFFECTED WERE CONTINUING THE AGES 2 AND 5 THEN DID NOT RECEIVE VACCINATION BECAUSE OF CO URSE THIS AGE GROUP IS NOT YET VACCINELE IGIBLE. OKAY, WE KNOW A TRIER BUT FOR PARENTS AT HOME, WHAT DO THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOME OF THE EARLIEST SYMPTOMS? A PARENT SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKTOU FOR SYMPTOMS THAT INCLUDE FEVER FATIGUE. APPETITE NAUSEA AND VOMINGTI DOMINO PAIN DIARRHEA AND IN LATE CASES YELLOWING OF THE EYES OR SKIN ALSO KNOWN AS JAUNDICE WITH DARKNEY OF THE URINE OR LIGHTNING OF THE STOOLS IF ANY COMBINATION WE SIMPLY PARENT SHOULD CONTACT TIRHE PEDIATRICIAN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR FURTHER EVALUATION. OK, AYDR. RAYMOND CHUNG DIRECTOR OF HEPATOLOGYND A LIVER CENTER FOR MASS GENERAL HOSPITAL. IT IS VERY RARE, BUT THAT WAS SOME GREAT INFORMATION. A LOT OF PARENTS ARE WONDERING ABOUT RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR US THIS
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Video: Boston doctor describes severity of pediatric hepatitis cases
Updated: 10:35 AM EDT May 14, 2022
The CDC is investigating more than 100 cases of unexplained hepatitis in children, including two cases in Massachusetts.
The CDC is investigating more than 100 cases of unexplained hepatitis in children, including two cases in Massachusetts.
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