Rabat – Minister of health said in a press release, on April 22, that it has been closely following the epidemic situation of acute hepatitis in Europe since it emerged in the first week of April.
The United Kingdom was the first country to report the cases to the World Health Organization on April 5, 2022.
Amid rising concerns over the situation, the Moroccan ministry said it is following all the recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Center for Disease Prevention (ECDC), and the UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
It also stated that as of April 22, Morocco’s “National Epidemiological Surveillance System has not registered any change in the usual number of hepatitis cases in the country, nor reported [any cases] of acute hepatitis.”
The WHO has called all countries to monitor all probable cases of acute hepatitis and report them, the press release added.
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Acute Hepatitis Epidemic in the world
Earlier this month, on April 5, the UK reported an increase in the cases of acute hepatitis among previously healthy children under the age of 10 from Scotland.
After further investigations, the UK on April 12 reported 61 more cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Most of these newer cases aged between 2 and 5 years.
Following the UK’s notification, Ireland reported less than five “confirmed or possible” cases. In addition, Spain reported three confirmed cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children aged 22 months to 13 years.
According to the ECDC, some acute hepatitis cases in the UK had previously reported abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. The majority of cases did not have a fever. Some cases necessitated treatment at specialized children’s liver units, while a few required liver transplantation surgeries.
Morocco has not reported any similar cases of acute hepatitis in the country.
Acute hepatitis
According to the US’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the term hepatitis refers to liver inflammation. Hepatitis can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption, toxins, certain medications, and certain medical conditions.
According to the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy (MSD Manual) website, Acute viral hepatitis is a type of liver inflammation brought by one of the five hepatitis viruses (A, B, C, D, E). Most of the time, the inflammation appears suddenly and lasts only a few weeks.
Acute hepatitis symptoms range from none to extremely severe. Affected individuals may experience “a loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, [diarrhea], fever, pain in the upper right part of the abdomen,” according to the MSD Manual.
