Reader TTS

Mounting evidence suggests that COVID is a multisystem infection, and can impact any organ in the short and long term. So, could COVID also cause hepatitis? Yes, say the study researchers. *

The study comprised of 796,369 children between the ages of 1-10 years. * 245,675 of them had contracted COVID-19 between March 11, 2020 - March 11, 2022 * 550,694 had contracted non-COVID

other respiratory infection (ORI) during the same timeframe. RESULTS: Compared to children who had ORI, children with COVID-19 were found to be at a significantly higher risk for elevated

alanine transaminase (ALT), and total bilirubin—two indicators of liver damage. The researchers, however, have not been able to conclusively link these findings to the emerging cases of

acute hepatitis. COVID in children as young as these (under 10 years) is rare, but experts aren't completely ruling out the possibility of some of these kids having had asymptomatic or

very mild COVID that may have gone unnoticed. Another similar study, published in _The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology,_ found that around 18 percent of the patients in the UK did

in fact test positive for COVID. In Israel, according to the same study, Eleven of twelve patients were reported to have had COVID-19 in recent months. The study researchers think viral

reservoir formation post COVID could be one explanation for these cases of acute hepatitis. Repeated immune activation has previously been linked to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in

children, which can also lead to liver failure in some cases. More research, however, is needed to establish this theory more conclusively.