Health Ministry Explains 6 Suspected Causes of Acute Hepatitis

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The health Ministry ensures that the cause of acute hepatitis in Indonesia is still unknown. The ministry's spokesperson Mohammad Syahril revealed that as of now, there are six suspected causes of acute hepatitis cases that also occur in various countries.

Based on the UK Health Security Agency data per May 19, 2022, the suspected causes include a common adenovirus, a new variant of adenovirus, post-infection syndrome of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing the Covid-19), medicine exposure, environment or toxic, new pathogen, and a new variant of SARS-CoV-2.

''These are hypotheses, or possibilities, or suspected causes of acute hepatitis,'' said Mohammad Syahril in a written statement on Thursday, May 26.

He said that the hypotheses occur in the U.S. and the U.K. Meanwhile in Indonesia, Syahril said his side is still confirming the latest information on the results of the research on the suspected cause of acute hepatitis.

''Let's just follow [the update], as this is just a hypothesis. We'll see if the 6 hypotheses will be strong allegations by the experts or scientists."

As of May 23, at 16:00, there were 35 cumulative cases of acute hepatitis suspected cases. Of the number, 19 were discarded,  and 16 were probable cases and pending classification.

The total 16 cases are spread in 10 provinces, namely in Jakarta, East Java , Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, Bangka Belitung, Jambi, West Sumatra, Banten, Yogyakarta, and South Sulawesi.

Fajar Pebrianto

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