Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Adenovirus-Child Hepatitis Link Probed; Ebola Outbreak Is From New Source
Bloomberg: Covid Pandemic Links To Children’s Liver Ailment Eyed In U.K. Probe
Health authorities are investigating potential links between the pandemic and an outbreak of mysterious, acute hepatitis that’s sickened children in the U.K., the U.S. and other countries. The U.K. has detected adenovirus, a family of pathogens that cause a range of illnesses including the common cold, in three-quarters of the cases of the liver-inflaming disease, officials said Monday. Now they’re studying whether a lack of prior exposure to adenoviruses during pandemic restrictions or a previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 or another virus may be related. (Paton, 4/25)
AP: UK: More Links Between Common Virus, Hepatitis In Children
While it isn’t clear what’s causing the illnesses, a leading suspect is adenovirus, which was detected in 75% of the confirmed cases tested, the U.K. agency said in statement Monday. Adenovirus, a common group of viruses, is now circulating in children at higher than average levels after dropping to unusually low levels during the pandemic. One avenue of inquiry being explored is that the outbreak may be linked to a surge in common viral infections after COVID-19 restrictions were phased out. Children who weren’t exposed to adenovirus over the last two years may now be getting hit harder when they are exposed to the viruses. (Kirka, 4/25)
In other global developments —
The Wall Street Journal: South Korea Downgrades Covid-19 From Riskiest-Disease Category
South Korea has downgraded Covid-19 from the country’s riskiest category of infectious disease, a first step toward treating the virus more like the seasonal flu. The country is one of the first to make such a move. The downgrade, approved Monday by health officials, will take effect after a four-week transition period. (Yoon, 4/25)
AP: Most Of Beijing To Be Tested For COVID Amid Lockdown Worry
Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. The Chinese capital began mass testing people in one of its 16 districts where most of the new cases have been found. The city also imposed lockdowns on individual residential buildings and one section of the city. Late in the day, health officials said the testing would be expanded Tuesday to all but five outlying districts. (Wang and Moritsugu, 4/26)
On ebola —
CIDRAP: Ebola Returns To Northwest DR Congo; Animal Spillover Suspected
Yesterday, scientists who examined the genetic sequence of the sample said evidence suggests a new spillover from the host reservoir and doesn't show a direct link to Equateur province's earlier outbreaks in 2018 and 2020. (Schnirring, 4/25)
ASBMB Today: Ebola Virus Hides Out In Brain
The Ebola virus can hide in the brains of monkeys that have recovered after medical treatment without causing symptoms and lead to recurrent infections, according to a study by a team I led that was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. (Zeng, 4/16)
On C. Diff —
CIDRAP: Danish Study Suggests Potential C Difficile Spread Between Pigs, Humans
A study conducted in Danish pigs found strains of Clostridioides difficile that were similar to those found in humans, with multiple resistance genes, researchers reported late last week at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. In the study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Statens Serum Institut tested 514 samples collected in two batches from 14 Danish pig farms for the presence of C difficile. They also conducted whole-genome sequencing to determine the multilocus sequence type, toxins, and resistance genes, and to compare the pig isolates to isolates collected from human C difficile patients during the same period. (4/25)
