A MYSTERIOUS outbreak of liver disease, or hepatitis, in young children in the UK and several other nations is puzzling experts. The lead hypothesis is that the cases are connected to a normally mild adenovirus called 41F, plus another unknown factor that is making children react abnormally to catching it.
The most likely suspect is that babies and infants went unexposed to the usual childhood infections over the past two years of social distancing. Or it could be that the affected children have had a recent brush with covid-19. Either way, the pandemic is in the spotlight.
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The hepatitis outbreak is out of the blue, but it is unlikely to be the only pandemic-related health surprise awaiting us in the coming years. Many immunologists had already been predicting that covid-19 would have some longer-term effects aside from long covid. Young children normally catch every illness going around, but rates of common infections such as flu and stomach bugs plummeted in places that locked down. Many babies born in the past two years have had an abnormally long delay before they first encounter these illnesses.
There are other indirect health effects of covid-19. Some research indicates that mental health has worsened during the pandemic, especially in young people. Many of us , too. This is concerning, as exercise is a great way to lower the risk of a range of conditions, from cancer and heart attacks to depression. An Age UK survey in August and September 2020 found that some older people had become less steady on their feet or less confident about walking to the shops.
This doesn’t mean lockdowns were wrong. They stopped health services from being so swamped they couldn’t see everyone who needed help, for covid-19 or other conditions, saving countless lives. In places where they did sometimes get overwhelmed, like India and Hong Kong, some people died avoidably for this reason.
But we shouldn’t shy away from investigating all possible fallout from the pandemic, to cut the risk of further nasty surprises. We can’t do anything to mitigate these effects if we remain in ignorance.
