Covin Infection Could Affect Children's Immune System

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We are still learning about covin 19 and were still learning about its long term effects. We know that it the brain in ways that we hadn't anticipated. And it may well be that it affects the immune system. There's a whole series of diseases which we call auto immune, in which the body reacts against its own tissues. They are often thought to be triggered by a virus. So it is possible that the covid is a trigger for switching the immune system on and off - making people more susceptible to other viruses. The u k h s a will be looking at the genetic make up of these children and looking at their immune defences and responses.

Over the past few weeks, countries around the world have reported an unexpected increase in the number of children with hepatitis. So far about 200 cases have been reported. More than half have come from the UK, but there have also been reports from Spain, Japan and the US, among others. Although this is still a very rare disease, it is severe, with 10% of affected children needing a liver transplant. So what might explain this unusual rise? Guardian science editor Ian Sample speaks to Prof Deirdre Kelly about the current theories as to what could be happening, and how concerned we should be. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod