THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 26, 2022 at 15:02 JST
The government building housing the health ministry (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The health ministry confirmed Japan’s first suspected case of acute child hepatitis of unknown origin, a mysterious ailment that has been reported in many children in Britain, Spain and elsewhere.
The ministry did not disclose the age, gender or symptoms of the patient.
A municipality that received a report about the case from a local medical institution notified the ministry on April 21, the ministry said on April 25.
The patient is a “probable” case, as defined by the World Health Organization, the ministry said.
The WHO regards probable cases as those involving children under 17 who are confirmed to have acute hepatitis, excluding types A, B, C, D and E, through liver tests conducted in January 2021 or later.
The child in Japan has not had a liver transplant and tested negative for adenovirus, which is possibly linked to the latest outbreak, in a PCR test, the ministry said.
The WHO said 169 cases of the mysterious acute hepatitis had been reported among children in 12 countries, mainly in Europe, as of April 21.
At least one patient is reported to have died.
(This article was written by Kayoko Geji and Hiromi Kumai.)
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