The Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands reports this Friday a case under investigation for suspected acute infantile hepatitis of unknown origin that is being studied at the University Hospital of the Canary Islands, in Tenerife. Until now, no confirmed cases have been reported in the Canary Islands.
The patient, who is 15 years old, is undergoing additional diagnostic tests to verify whether or not his pathology corresponds to this variant of Hepatitis, while he remains admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the HUC with a favorable evolution.
The patient, still awaiting the results of other diagnostic tests, responds well to immunosuppressive treatment, which suggests that it may be due to a non-infectious cause and, therefore, not linked to the international outbreak of infantile hepatitis. However, following the protocols, the case under investigation will be reported to the Ministry of Health and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can cause a number of health problems such as respiratory diseases, gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, cystitis, bronchitis, pneumonia and, less frequently, neurological diseases. The cause of the appearance of this variant of Hepatitis is still unknown to the scientific community, although all hospitals of the Canarian Health Service are alert to the possible appearance of any patient with symptoms compatible with this disease.
