Acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology

Subject: Acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of 8 July 2022, 35 countries have already reported 1010 probable cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in children. These conditions meet the so-called case definition according to WHO terminology, with 22 deaths reported so far.

In the European area, as of 30 June 2022, the ECDC reports that a total of 473 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology have already been reported in 21 countries.

The current leading hypothesis is that a co-factor affecting young children with adenovirus infection, which would normally be mild, is causing a more severe infection or immune-mediated liver damage.

1. To what extent is the Commission monitoring the development of cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin,and is it considering an extended pathway of possible action in the event that human-to-human transmission is found to be possible?

2. To what extent can the launch of a WHO global online survey to estimate the prevalence of severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in 2022 add value to achieving and meeting the global target for hepatitis C elimination in the EU/EEA?

Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

(24 August 2022)

The Commission, via the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has set up the reporting of data on acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology. Results are published monthly in the Joint ECDC-World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe Surveillance Bulletin (1).

On 28 April 2022, ECDC published a rapid risk assessment on ‘Increase in severe acute hepatitis cases of unknown aetiology in children (2)’. The exchange of information and communication between Member States and the Commission is also being facilitated via established IT systems.

The Commission together with ECDC is following closely the epidemiological situation and is ready to scale up its actions if necessary.

Furthermore, the Commission, via ECDC, is working on a case-control study, in cooperation with the Member States and the WHO and on various clinical research networks to support the collection of detailed information.

The survey launched by the WHO on 11 July 2022 (3) aims to investigate whether cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology are occurring — and liver transplants are being necessary as a result — at higher than expected rates.

This survey is therefore not aimed at achieving the overall goal of eliminating hepatitis C in the EU/European Economic Area.

⋅1∙ https://cdn.ecdc.europa.eu/novhep-surveillance/

⋅2∙ https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/ecdc-publishes-rapid-risk-assessment-increase-severe-acute-hepatitis-cases-unknown

⋅3∙ https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease ‐outbreak‐news/item/2022‐DON400#:~:text=On%2011%20July%202022%2C%20WHO,higher%2Dthan%2Dexpected

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