Lately, the cases of acute hepatitis from unknown causes have significantly
increased, mainly among children, being reported about 200 illnesses in 14
countries worldwide. This alerted the medical doctors, but it caused anxiety as
well among the population. Even though, to get rid of this anxiety, and also to
stay informed, it is important to know as much information as possible about
this disease we might face with. The feeling of concern can be also fought by
having private health insurance, which can provide you with the necessary
coverage, even in the event acute hepatitis occurs. If you don’t have yet
information about this disease, the MediHelp experts come to help you with the most useful things you should know
about acute hepatitis.
Acute hepatitis is a term used to describe a variety of diseases
characterised by the acute swelling of the liver parenchyma or injuries of the
hepatocytes, resulting in increasing the liver function indices. Generally, the
hepatitis is classified as being acute or chronic based on the time, but on the
severity of the swelling as well. In the case of acute hepatitis, the
period of the swelling or hepatocellular injury lasts less than six months and
it is characterised by normalising the liver function tests. It was noticed
that this new form of severe acute hepatitis appears mostly in children younger
than 10 years.
There are several causes for the appearance of acute hepatitis, they
are divided into two categories: infectious and non-infectious. Even though,
the most common cause for the appearance of acute hepatitis is due to virus infection, such as the one with one of the five major viruses: hepatitis
A virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis D virus, and hepatitis E
virus. In addition to this, hepatitis can also be caused by a great variety
of non-infectious causes, such as drugs, alcohol, and immunologic factors or as a
result of the urinary tract dysfunction, liver dysfunction caused by pregnancy,
shock, or metastatic disease. Even if these are the most common causes of the
appearance of acute hepatitis, an adenovirus might be the cause as well.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it might be an
adenovirus that caused the appearance of the mysterious causes of severe acute
hepatitis in very young children. Although, the appearance causes are not fully
known.
Usually, adenoviruses can be the cause of severe acute hepatitis,
but only when the individuals’ immunity is very low. CDC also confirms the fact
that in the case of mysterious hepatitis developed by children, it is not
about the infection with the Covid-19 virus or the hepatitis A, B, or C viruses.
Acute hepatitis can be like a minor disease or can get to the point
of lethal liver failure. The symptoms severity and fast recovery significantly
vary depending on the specific virus, but also on the response of the person to
the infection. Hepatitis that comes from the A or C virus usually causes very
light symptoms that can be even unnoticeable, but B, D, or E hepatitis are more
likely to cause severe symptoms. The symptoms can suddenly start including a
low appetite, nausea, vomiting, fever, joint pains, or rash. Sometimes, jaundice can be developed as a cause of the fact that the liver cannot
eliminate the bilirubin from the blood, as it normally does. Even if these are
the general causes, in the mysterious cases of severe acute hepatitis in
children, symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea or even breathing difficulties
were noticed. Also, some of them needed even a liver transplant.
For most people with virus acute hepatitis, it is not necessary a
special treatment, but the people who develop severe forms might need hospitalisation to be under the supervision of specialists. Even though the
acute hepatitis treatments are only partially efficient, that is why its
prevention is very important. There are vaccines, but only for certain types of
hepatitis, so, it would be recommended to take into account more general
preventions, such as frequently washing your hands, particularly before eating
food, keeping certain objects for personal use, such as toothbrushes, razor
blades or injections, without sharing them with other people. Of course, in
order to be covered, we recommend you opt for private medicalinsurance, to save you
if an unpredictable situation might occur.
Also, for the mysterious cases of severe acute hepatitis that appeared
in children, a prevention way might be to try some methods that increase
immunity, such as a vitamin-rich diet, not isolating the children,
reintroducing them into their normal activities respectively, together with
other children of their age. So, their immune system would have the chance to
be more prepared against several challenges that might occur.
Acute hepatitis is a disease that can affect each of us, regardless of age, that is why prevention is extremely important. Even though, sometimes, we can notice that mysterious cases can appear that can be difficult
even for specialists, that is why we need to stay informed, but also covered in
order to minimise the potential effects of its appearance. To this end, private health insurance can be very
helpful, and if you don’t know which is suitable for you, you can ask anytime
the MediHelp specialists who can guide you whenever you need it.
Source: National Library of Medicine
