Deadly hepatitis outbreak claiming the lives of children now found in Spain

The mysterious hepatitis upsurge that has been sweeping Europe and the US has now claimed the lives of two more children in Spain.

Cases in the UK

The two victims, a six-year-old from Murcia and a 15-month-old baby from Andalusia, both succumbed to the disease after rejecting a liver transplant only 24 hours after receiving it. The illness, which has been perplexing scientists since it emerged, is said to have come about as a result of a surge in bugs and viruses upon lifting COVID restrictions.

60% of all cases have affected mostly girls with a total of 274 cases having been detected this year. Though 15 British children have required liver transplants after contracting the disease, numbers have been on the decline and it is believed to have reached its peak here in the UK.

What is the root cause of this hepatitis upsurge?

Speaking to The Sun, Dr Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at UKHSA, explained that getting to the bottom of what started this rise in cases has been nothing short of 'complex'. She explained in greater detail:

Multiple strands of investigation point towards the possibility that several different factors have combined to cause severe illness in some children. It’s important to remember that it’s very rare for a child to develop hepatitis and new cases associated with this outbreak have now declined.

Before adding:

UKHSA continues to work with academic and international partners to understand why this cluster occurred and any future risks.

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