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Govt probes another hepatitis-linked child death as more cases emerge
The Health Ministry is investigating a death in East Java thought to be connected to an ill-understood form of hepatitis.
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The Health Ministry is investigating another death thought to be connected to an ill-understood form of hepatitis in children as more cases are reported across the country. (Pixabay/File)
T
he Health Ministry is investigating another death thought to be connected to an ill-understood form of hepatitis in children as more cases are reported across the country.
The Tulungagung Health Agency in East Java reported on Saturday that a 7-year-old girl had died after exhibiting symptoms of hepatitis, which include jaundice, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
Agency head Kasil Rokhmat said the patient had received intensive treatment at the Dr Iskak Regional Hospital and another private hospital in Tulungagung before she died on Friday.
"Lab reports showed that the patient tested negative for hepatitis A, B, C, D and E," Kasil said on Saturday, as reported by Tempo.
Health Ministry spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the ministry was conducting laboratory tests to determine the cause of the infection and whether the East Java case and three other deaths previously reported in Jakarta were cases of an acute form of hepatitis of unknown origin that had been affecting children abroad.
Between April 15 and 30, three children, aged 2, 8 and 11, died at Jakarta’s Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital after being treated for liver inflammation. All three had been vaccinated against hepatitis and had tested negative for hepatitis A through E.
A 2-month-old with acute hepatitis symptoms also died last week at Hermina Hospital in Padang, West Sumatra. The Health Ministry has not said whether it will investigate the death further.
