What is Neonatal Hepatitis?
Neonatal hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that occurs only in early infancy, usually between one and two months after birth. About 20 percent of the infants with neonatal hepatitis are infected by a virus that caused the inflammation before birth by their mother or shortly after birth. These include cytomegalovirus, rubella (measles), and hepatitis A, B or C viruses. In the remaining 80 percent of the cases no specific virus can be identified as the cause, but many experts suspect that a virus is to blame. TOP 2) What are the Symptoms and how is it Diagnosed? The infant with neonatal hepatitis usually has jaundice (yellow eyes and skin), that appear at one to two months of age, is not gaining weight and growing normally, and has an enlarged liver and spleen. The infant cannot absorb vitamins for proper growth. The jaundice is caused by the child’s bile ducts becoming inflamed and enlarged, blocking the flow of bile into the small intestine for digestion of fats and absorption of
