There is a dangerous virus in the US.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert to healthcare providers, warning that a cluster of at least nine unusual pediatric hepatitis cases have been spotted in Alabama in recent months.
According to the CDC, these cases of inflammation appear to have been caused by an adenoviruses.
The first US cases were identified at a large children's hospital in Alabama. By November, five of the patients there had suffered significant injury to their livers, and three of them had acute failure. Two patients required transplants.
The World Health Organization said last week that there have been similar cases in Spain and Ireland. The CDC told Stat last week that the US cases are in kids ranging in age from 1 to 6 years old, and the Alabama health department said in a release on April 14 that the children were all infections.
The culprit behind the cases of inflammation is aviruses called adenoviruses, which can be spread through close contact and respiratory excretions.
The health agency said that the children with this disease were all previously healthy. According to the CDC, adenoviruses 41 are not known to be a cause of hepatitis in otherwise healthy children. There is no cure for the illness.
Acute gastroenteritis with symptoms is caused by adenoviruses 41.
For now, the CDC recommends that medical providers test kids with unusual, inexplicable hepatitis cases for the adenoviruses.
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