Photo/Illutration WHO headquarters in Geneva (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan has confirmed its first death from a mysterious form of acute hepatitis that has spread among children in multiple countries.

According to health ministry data, Japan had 162 confirmed cases as of March 17, and three of the patients had undergone liver transplants.

The ministry told The Asahi Shimbun that one person with the illness has died, but it did not disclose the time of death or the age of the victim.

Additional deaths may have also occurred in Japan, but the ministry said it does not announce such cases, citing the need to protect “personal information.”

When medical institutions confirm acute hepatitis of unknown origin among children 16 years old or younger, the ministry asks that they report the cases to public health centers.

The acute hepatitis form is a mystery because its cause is still not known. The first case was reported in Britain in April 2022.

After countries checked their past medical data, 35 of them reported at least 1,010 cases of the mysterious disease between October 2021 and July 2022 to the World Health Organization.

The reporting nations included the United States, Japan and European countries.

As of July 2022, 46 patients had developed severe symptoms requiring liver transplants, and 22 people had died.

Common symptoms of acute hepatitis include loss of appetite, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice. In severe cases, the illness can lead to unconsciousness.

Hepatitis can be caused not only by viruses and drug use but also by conditions in which the body’s immune system destroys liver cells.

Studies are pointing to adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) as a possible cause of the acute hepatitis.

Three research teams in the United States and Britain have each announced that AAV2 was present in many acute hepatitis patients.

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