Possible link between dogs and rise in children’s hepatitis explored

Scientists are investigating a potential link between dogs and the recent spike in hepatitis in children, the UK Health Security Agency said.

With the number of hepatitis cases amongst children now having risen to over 160, scientists have outlined a number of factors investigated as they try to determine the cause of the spike.

Investigations have included interviews of parents conducted by public health specialists to assess a broad range of different exposures.

A review of UK trawling questionnaire responses has found relatively high numbers of dog-owning families or other dog exposures in cases (64 of 92 where data was available, or 70%).

“The significance of this finding is being explored,” the UKHSA said but noted that “there are limited data on background rates of pet ownership in families of young children […] and the nature of trawling questionnaire investigations mean that some responses may be high through the play of chance due to the large numbers of questions asked.”

The body’s main hypothesis as to what causes the illness remains adenovirus, which is the most frequently detected potential pathogen.

Amongst 163 UK cases, 126 have been tested for adenovirus of which 91 had adenovirus detected (72%).

However, it’s uncommon for adenovirus to cause hepatitis in previously well children and so scientists are now looking for potential contributory factors.

These include previous SARS-CoV-2 or another infection, a change in susceptibility possibly due to reduced exposure during the pandemic, or a change in the adenovirus genome itself.