KARACHI: A series of mystery hepatitis cases among children may have been triggered by an immune response caused by Covid-19, medical experts have suggested.
More than 429 cases of the liver disease have been found in children from more than 22 countries- 26 of whom needed liver transplants and six of whom died – since it was first detected in Britain last month. Scientists are still trying to find out what causes the disease and one of the leading theories is that an adenovirus – a common type of virus that usually causes colds – is to blame. Some researchers further suggest that an adenovirus in children who have previously been infected with Covid-19 triggered a series of events that led to an immune response that attacked the liver.
Petter Brodin, a pediatric immunologist and pediatrician at Imperial College London and Moshe Arditi, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, last week published a hypothesis knitting the two viruses together.
In correspondence published in The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Petter Brodin, and Moshe Arditi, director of the Infectious and Immunological Diseases Research Centre at Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, put forward a theory that a virus reservoir may have formed in children suffering from the disease and that they may have coronavirus lingering in their gastrointestinal tracts. They suggest that a superantigen – a molecular structure that triggers an immune response – in the coronavirus could be at the root of the problem.
The United States just crossed the one million mark for COVID-19 deaths, the highest in the world, according to data from John Hopkins University. But this figure was reported by the U.S. mainstream media, including the NBC News, CNBC and Washington Post. Before the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. was listed as one of the top countries that has outstanding health infrastructure– but like other countries it’s health did not sustain before lethal COVID 19. According to the numbers the situation is not satisfactory .
This horrific milestone was reached only 27 months after the virus was first detected in the country, through two presidential administrations. The virus was not duly handled by administration of former President Donald Trump as well as incumbent President Joe Biden, a long-tenured politician and former vice president.
At every step, the U.S. health setup try to contain virus but did not overcome completely, even though key pieces of information – for example, that the disease is airborne – were known well before the public became aware and effective containment strategies were eschewed in favor of “the economy.” It shows poor health services ( which are fundamental rights of all citizens) and one of the most egregious examples of government mismanagement in modern history.
Even as cases increase yet again, the U.S. government is pretending its battle with the coronavirus disease is over.
The White House even recently hosted its annual Correspondents’ Dinner, with many who attended the event testing positive for COVID-19, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In the middle of a raging pandemic, the White House has yet again been the site of a superspreader event.
Perhaps there is no better show of lack of proactive approach than the fact that this has happened multiple times and top government officials aren’t even insulated from the virus.
Objectively, the U.S. administration must revisit its approach to COVID-19. The one million lives and counting lost to the pandemic have been dismissed as “only” the sick or elderly, diminishing these people’s value, undermining their moral stature and disregarding that not everyone who died from COVID-19 fits neatly into these categories.
America claims to be a champion of good health infrastructure while a significant amount of the country claims to uphold the sanctity of life – yet so many people died with little fanfare. The only conclusion is that these values truly mean nothing. Even US QUAD partner India reported same news. It is urged by ‘top news’ that “As US surpassed 1 million covid death, the international society call on the Washington Administration to proceed from the health of all mankind, stop political manipulation, take effective measures to deal with COVID-19 ”.
Although the relationship between mysterious hepatitis and COVID-19 needs more and more in-depth research by medical experts, other diseases caused by COVID-19 deserve continuous attention of scientists all over the world. It should be the consensus of all countries that the world should join hands and continue to adopt coordinated policies to fight against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases instead of blaming each other. The US being global power must take the lead and ensure effective COVID 19 policy across the world