THE STRAITS TIMES – A few more suspected cases of acute hepatitis among children have been reported in Indonesia after the deaths of three paediatric patients allegedly caused by the unknown liver ailment that has affected children across the globe, the country’s Health Ministry said yesterday.
The new cases were found after health agencies across the country were alerted to reported cases linked to jaundice, the ministry’s spokesman Dr Siti Nadia Tarmizi said in a virtual press conference.
The ministry is still verifying the cause of the latest infections among children under 16 years old, through a series of tests.
“There have been additional cases… but they are not confirmed as there are examinations that must be carried out through genome sequencing to detect with certainty that they are not hepatitis A to E,” she said.
Jakarta’s Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital has been appointed the key hospital to tackle the severe cases of the ailment, she added.
Three children, aged two, eight and 11, died in Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in April after displaying jaundice, preceded by digestive problems such as nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhoea.
These symptoms have also been found in a number of unexplained hepatitis cases among children in other countries, such as the United States and Britain.
Based on investigations so far, none of the family members of the deceased have a history of hepatitis or jaundice, or displayed similar hepatitis symptoms after the children were affected, according to the ministry.
The three also tested negative for COVID-19, while only the two-year-old had not been vaccinated against hepatitis.
