A member of the Egyptian House of Representatives Ayman Mohsab submitted a parliamentary question to House Speaker Hanafi al-Gabali, directed to the Acting Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, regarding the ministry’s preparations to confront acute hepatitis in children which has spread across 12 countries without a known source.
A recent announcement by the World Health Organization said that 74 cases of hepatitis of unknown origin were reported in England and Northern Ireland, in addition to three cases in Spain, Mohsab noted.
The WHO explained that all cases are of children aged 11 to 13 years. The disease is accompanied by diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Infection of the hepatitis viruses A-B-C-E-D was excluded, it added.
Mohsab said that the spread of the disease to 12 countries raises concerns about its cause, how it spreads, and the measures that must be taken to confront it.
He called for rapid action within the epidemiological surveillance plan followed by the Egyptian state, to watch any developments related to the global epidemiological situation.
And he requested the research and monitoring department inform all directorates and hospitals of developments in the situation to prepare for any emergency cases if they arise in Egypt.
