Now Japan and Canada probe mystery hepatitis in children as global outbreak spreads

Suspected cases of the mysterious hepatitis sweeping the world have now been detected in children in Japan and Canada.

Canada’s Public Health Agency yesterday revealed it was ‘aware of reports of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin’ in the country.

And Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that a patient under the age of 16 was hospitalised with hepatitis on April 21.

Officials did not reveal their age, sex or location — but said they tested negative for adenovirus, believed to be the culprit of the global outbreak, and Covid.

The patient meets the working definition for a ‘probable case’ of the hepatitis cases already confirmed in countries like the UK, US and Spain officials said.

Nearly 200 children have been sickened by the condition across the world in up to 14 countries since last October. One has died and 17 have needed liver transplants. 

Public Health Agency of Canada said: ‘These are being investigated further to determine if they are related to cases in the UK and the US. 

‘As the investigation evolves, we will keep the public updated accordingly.’ 

But the country did not reveal how many cases exactly have been spotted. 

The condition — which was first spotted in Scotland at the end of March — has been detected 114 times in Britain and at least 11 times in the US.

Medics have been left puzzled by what is causing it — with the usual hepatitis A, B, C, D and E viruses excluded from laboratory test results.

Health chiefs believe the illness may be triggered by an adenovirus, which usually causes common colds. 

Experts say lockdowns may have weakened the immunity of children and left them more susceptible to the virus, or it may be a mutated version.

Investigations are ongoing but officials have yet to rule out a new Covid variant being to blame. 

Another theory is that children may have been battling the adenovirus at the same time as Covid. 

UK health officials have ruled out the Covid vaccine as a possible cause, with none of the ill British children having been vaccinated because of their young age. 

None of the cases in the US were jabbed either. 

Liver experts described the spate of cases as ‘concerning’ but said parents should not worry about the illness affecting their children.

Professor Deirdre Kelly, a hepatologist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, told MailOnline children should follow normal hygiene protocols with good handwashing.

She said: ‘The epidemic of acute hepatitis is concerning, but it has only affected a very small percentage of children under 10 years. 

’90 per cent of affected children have recovered spontaneously. The few children who have developed severe liver damage have been successfully transplanted [in the UK].’

Covid lockdowns may be behind the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases in children because they reduced social mixing and weakened their immunity, experts claim

Dr Zania Stamataki, a liver immunologist at the University of Birmingham, told MailOnline: ‘Currently the number of cases of sudden onset hepatitis in children are very low. 

‘As a mum, I am not concerned with the reported numbers because the incidence is very rare.

‘However, as a viral immunologist with expertise in liver disease, I am intrigued because there are more cases than pre-pandemic levels, so it is worth monitoring the situation.’

Three probable new cases in Illinois, US, are also being probed by officials, including one that required a liver transplant.

All the children were under ten years old the state’s health department said, with two of the youngsters based in Chicago and the third in Western Illinois.

Some 11 children sick with unexplained hepatitis have been confirmed in the U.S. in recent weeks, with nine cases in Alabama — including two that needed liver transplants — and two in North Carolina. 

If confirmed, the Illinois cases will take the total to 14.