According to the World Health Organization, about 200 cases of acute liver disease “of unknown origin” have been found in children across a dozen countries.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it’s investigating “potential cases” in Canada to know whether they’re linked to those found in the United Kingdom and the United States.
In interviews this week, doctors with Montreal’s two main children’s hospitals said they don’t believe parents should be panicked by the outbreak just yet.
But they stressed how important it is for physicians to look for cases and report them to public health authorities to better understand what’s happening.
“Is it concerning? Yes, because we haven’t really pinned down what the cause is, and that’s always a concern,” said Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
