Parents are being reminded that not all fever symptoms in children are caused by a common cold, and that Epstein-Barr virus often causes similar symptoms, a pediatrician said yesterday.
Taipei Shu-Tien Clinic pediatrician Yeh Sheng-hsiung (葉勝雄) said that a seven-year-old patient was taken to the clinic after she suffered with a fever that lasted three days, nose congestion and chest pain.
The girl was suffering from enlarged lymph nodes in her neck, throat inflammation, and jaundice. Blood tests showed her white blood cell count had increased to more than 20,000 and her liver function test showed glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) levels at about eight times higher that the normal levels, Yeh said.
The girl was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus, he said, adding that the disease — also called the “kissing disease” — is mainly transmitted through saliva.
Symptoms can sometimes be similar to those of the common cold, Yeh said, adding that serious infection can cause a fever that is hard to overcome, leading to increased liver GPT levels and splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen), and that serious cases can even lead to hemophagocytic syndrome, cerebritis or wonderland syndrome.
He urged parents to pay more attention to children’s symptoms, especially when they have a fever and that follow-up visits to the doctor are important if symptoms continue.
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