Society

Two more children in Japan are hospitalized with unidentified acute hepatitis

Apr 29 (NHK) - Japan's health ministry says two more children have been hospitalized with an unidentified type of acute hepatitis.

The ministry says the patients' symptoms are similar to those recently exhibited by children in other countries.

It says the hospitalized children are 16 years old or younger and are now receiving medical attention. This brings the total number of patients to three. The first case was reported on Monday.

The ministry has not clarified the connections among the three cases.

The World Health Organization says 12 countries, including the United States and Britain, reported acute hepatitis cases mainly among children aged 10 or under. As of April 21, at least 169 cases had been reported and one of them had died.

The WHO says none of the common hepatitis viruses were detected in the cases. The adenovirus, which causes sore throats, was detected in more than 40 percent of them.

Japan's health ministry has asked local governments across the nation to report patients with similar symptoms in their communities. The ministry is also collecting information on overseas cases.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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