Hepatitis of unknown origin in children: Why and how to create an open access database

During the early stages of an epidemic, obtaining reliable data is a challenge, especially on a global scale. The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of having “open data” (i.e., data which are made accessible and available in a standardized machine-readable format and under a license that allows it to be re-used and reshared) to inform health policy decisions and improve clinical trials. The main goal of our work is to provide effective, timely and comprehensive data to investigate this emerging virus, i.e., the acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children. These data can be used: 1) to conduct real-time situation analysis, and early and timely diagnosis for effective containment; 2) to facilitate coordination and collaboration between national and local governments; 3) to inform citizens on the spread of the disease in the world; and 4) to support governments in the future prevention decisions.