On May 6, BGI Genomics Co.,Ltd. announced that it will rapidly provide a comprehensive detection and screening program for children with acute hepatitis of unknown cause.

Using adenovirus and adenovirus F41 nucleic acid detection kits, rapid screening can be completed within an hour. The clinical cases with negative results were further used PMseq® pathogen high-throughput sequencing to explore potential new pathogens.

Among the 169 cases reported by the World Health Organization on April 23, adenovirus was detected in at least 74 samples, of which 18 were sequenced and showed adenovirus F41 type, so adenovirus was highly suspected as a potential causative factor.

Xu Lei, head of BGI Genomics infection mid-flux research and development, introduced that adenovirus is one of the pathogens that cause viral diarrhea and respiratory tract infections in children, of which F41 is one of the main adenovirus types. This product uses fluorescent PCR to detect adenovirus F41 type in stool or blood samples.

He also introduced that for more than half of the adenovirus screening negative samples in the reported cases, PMseq® can be further used for new or unknown infection screening. PMseq® is based on the methodology of metagenomics, extracts nucleic acids from infected samples, uses the second-generation high-throughput sequencing platform to sequence the nucleic acids in the samples, and then compares and analyzes them through a dedicated microorganism database. Obtain species information of suspected pathogenic microorganisms by using intelligent algorithm. The results will provide comprehensive report parameters to assist clinical diagnosis and treatment decisions.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, as of now, more than 230 similar cases have been reported in more than 20 countries and regions around the world. On the 6th, Japan announced that 4 new cases of acute hepatitis in children of unknown cause were added in Japan. The Argentine Ministry of Health also issued a notice on the 5th local time, 8 cases of unexplained childhood hepatitis have been found in Argentina.