LISBON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Since the beginning of April 2022, Portugal has registered six suspected cases in the outbreak of acute hepatitis among children, the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health reported on Friday.
"All the children who have been identified as suspected cases have had a rapid evolution, they are all very well recovered," said Paula Vasconcelos, head physician at the Center for Emergencies in Public Health, in statements to the press.
According to her, "it is normal that these cases continue to appear" when there is an "unknown cause of the disease" appearing in recent weeks in several countries in Europe and the United States.
The outbreak of acute hepatitis "of unknown origin" was first reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) on April 15, and affects children aged between one month and 16 years, with inflammation of the liver and "in many cases," gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting, besides elevation of liver enzymes.
According to the data released so far, at least one child has died and in about 10 percent of the cases, a liver transplant was required.
The Portuguese specialist said that Portugal is sharing information on all suspected cases through the network of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. (ECDC)
According to her, the children "are no longer sick, but the information during the period in which they were sick is very important to report at the European level and contribute to the European investigation of what is happening." ■