The Gorgas Memorial Institute confirmed this Thursday a case of acute hepatitis in a two-year-old boy, resident in East Panama.
Lourdes Moreno, national head of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) explained that she received confirmation from Gorgas and that the minor is out of danger, after being hospitalized at the Children’s Hospital.
Moreno explained that it is hepatitis F40-41, which corresponds precisely to the alert issued by the WHO/PAHO and that the Gorgas Institute carried out all the research required to determine that it is this type of acute hepatitis.
“In this case, epidemiological surveillance has been intensified and the surveillance alert has already been sent to all health facilities, both from the Social Security Fund, as well as from the Minsa and private hospital centers,” Moreno said.
This virus is transmitted through droplets, and the symptoms are: high fever, yellow skin, abdominal pain, among others, which is why Dr. Moreno said that parents should be aware of and alert to these types of symptoms. and added that the mask continues to be a barrier even to avoid contagion by hepatitis, just like Covid-19.
Last April, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert due to the appearance of cases of Acute and Severe Hepatitis of unknown origin in several countries in minors.
The first case was officially notified on April 5 and there is already a record of 169 cases in at least 12 countries and one death, according to the international organization.
