3 Children Died due to Mysterious Hepatitis, MoH Urges Public to Be Vigilan

TheIndonesia.id - Since being published as an extraordinary event by World Health Organization (WHO), the number of reports of mysterious hepatitis cases continues to grow. The case generally occurs in children aged 1 month to 16 years.

Some of the symptoms that appear in cases identified as acute hepatitis are elevated liver enzymes, jaundice syndrome, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. However, in most cases, there are no symptoms of fever.

The results of the laboratory examination were not found any hepatitis virus variants A, B, C, D, and E to be the cause of the disease.

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia issued an alert after three pediatric patients with suspected acute hepatitis died.

These three patients are referrals from hospitals in East Jakarta and West Jakarta.

Symptoms found in these patients are nausea, vomiting, severe diarrhea, fever, jaundice, convulsions, and loss of consciousness.

The Ministry of Health carried out an investigation into the causes of acute hepatitis through a complete virus panel examination. The Jakarta Provincial Health Office is conducting further epidemiological investigations

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, appealed to the public to be careful but to remain calm.

"Wash your hands, make sure the food is cooked and clean, don't exchange cutlery, avoid contact with sick people and follow health protocols wherever you are to minimize the risk of disease transmission."

Nadia asked if there are children who have symptoms of jaundice, abdominal pain, sudden vomiting and diarrhea, old tea-colored urine, pale stools, seizures, and decreased consciousness, they should immediately be checked at the nearest health service facility.

For information, WHO first received a report on April 5, 2022, from the United Kingdom regarding ten cases of acute hepatitis in children aged 11 months-5 years in the period January to March 2022 in Central Scotland.

Since it was officially published as an outbreak by WHO, the number of reports has continued to grow. More than 170 cases were reported by more than 12 countries