Mysterious outbreak of hepatitis in children grows, first death reported

According to the World Health Organization, at least one child has died of unexplained liver inflammation in a growing international outbreak of puzzling hepatitis cases in children.

The outbreak tally has reached more than 170 cases in 12 countries and is expected to continue growing. At least 17 children—10 percent of the cases—have required liver transplants. The ages of the affected children range from one month to 16 years, though the majority are children younger than 10 and many younger than 5.

The WHO reported 114 cases in the United Kingdom, 13 in Spain, 12 in Israel, six in Denmark, fewer than five in Ireland, four in the Netherlands, four in Italy, two in Norway, and one in Belgium. Nine cases in Alabama were noted by the WHO. Two more cases were reported in North Carolina last week, bringing the US total to at least 11. Two of the US cases resulted in transplants.

No deaths have been reported in the US, but WHO did not report the age or nationality of the child who died.

Medical mystery

The global case count may seem low, but young children are less likely to suffer from severe inflammation of the bile duct. 13 cases of severe hepatitis in children were reported in March and April, and health officials in Scotland realized something was amiss. Scotland usually records less than four such cases a year.

Health experts around the world are working to understand what's causing the severe liver injuries. Affected children have consistently tested negative for viruses that attack the liver, namely hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E. So far, there's no clear link between the cases, nor an association with travel, or a clear connection to an environmental, drug, or food exposure. The vast majority of the cases had not received COVID-19 vaccines, ruling out that possibility.

The common family of viruses are not known to cause the disease in healthy children. Of the 170 cases reported, at least 74 have tested positive for an adenoviruses, with 18 specifically testing positive for adenoviruses type 41.

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Adenoviruses are known to cause respiratory, eye, and sometimes gastrointestinal infections in humans. Some adenoviruses have been linked to the disease, but only in children.

The WHO notes that adenoviruses type 41 can cause a variety of symptoms. The most common symptoms of the kids affected by the outbreak are vomiting and abdominal pain, and most cases did not have a fever.

Working hypotheses

The UK and the Netherlands have documented rises in adenoviruses infections in the general community, driven by people returning to normal activities that were restricted during the Pandemic. The rare outcome of the hepatitis cases could be due to the fact that many children are getting adenoviruses at the same time. There is a chance that a novel type of adenoviruses has emerged and explains the cases.

It is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 Many children who have tested positive for an adenoviruses have low levels of the virus in their bodies, according to some data. There is a chance that the presence of adenoviruses is just a reflection of high transmission in the community.

It is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 There is a chance that the cases are caused by an adenoviruses. The WHO said that 20 children tested positive for the disease and another 19 had a co-infection. Researchers are not ruling out the possibility that the injuries are caused by an omicron infection alone or by an unknown variant of the disease.

The WHO and other experts want to know more about the mystery.