Abstract
Acute hepatitis A (AHA) in children usually has generally benign course. In literature, there are several descriptions of gallbladder involvement in AHA, but there are few data on the pediatric population. Fifteen children living in a Romani camp or in the neighbourhoods with AHA were admitted. 57% of children who underwent abdomen ultrasounds showed a significant gallbladder involvement and none of the patients required further diagnostic exams or surgical evaluation. This high frequency of gallbladder involvement is not usually described in pediatric AHA. Furthermore, this is the first Italian AHA outbreak in Romani children population reported in medical literature. Key words: Gallbladder wall thickening, children, hepatitis A, outbreak, Romani population.
Highlights
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an RNA virus, member of Picornaviridae family, with fecal-oral transmission
GWT is defined as a sonographic appearance of a wall thicker than 3 mm (Maudgal et al, 1984) that has been associated with several pathologic conditions and with acute viral hepatitis, especially hepatitis A and B
Ten patients came from a Romani official camp built by Rome council administration, while 4 came from other parts of the city and they were children who have had relationships with infected contacts, so it can be speculated that they got Acute hepatitis A (AHA) through a person to person contact
Summary
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an RNA virus, member of Picornaviridae family, with fecal-oral transmission. There are no official data on hepatitis A seroprevalence or AHA incidence in Romani children population. One outbreak in a Greek Romani population has been described (Vantarakis et al, 2010), but considering the epidemiological characteristics, it is possible to predict a high-endemicity epidemiological context, to that in low income countries (Jacobsen and Koopman, 2004). AHA in children usually has no particular clinical features, in comparison with adult form (Matheny and Kingery, 2012). It generally follows a benign course and most episodes heal spontaneously only with dietary and supportive care.
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