Photo: Getty
The U.S. Centers for Disease Controlissued a nationwide alertwarning of a rise in severe hepatitis cases in young children from an “unknown” cause, days after the World Health Organization announced that they are investigating the influx of cases in the U.S. and United Kingdom.
Alabama health officialsreleased a similar statementfollowing the WHO’s announcement, citing nine cases of hepatitis dating back to November 2020. None of the children had any underlying health conditions, the release said, and two of the nine required liver transplants as a result of the infection.
And on Thursday, the CDC said they were issuing the health alert “to notify US clinicians who may encounter pediatric patients with hepatitis of unknown etiology to consider adenovirus testing and to elicit reporting of such cases to state public health authorities and to CDC.”
In both the U.S. and U.K., the cause of the infections are unknown, but lab testing in the U.K. excluded hepatitis type A, B, C and E viruses. The virus that causes COVID-19 and adenovirus were “detected in several cases,” the WHO said.
RELATED VIDEO: Wash. Nurse Allegedly Used Her Own Drug Needles on Patients, Leading to Hepatitis C Infections
The increase in cases was first noticed on April 5, with 10 cases in central Scotland. Within three days, 74 cases had been identified across the U.K. Six children have required liver transplants. No deaths have been reported as of April 11.
With the cause of the severe infections unknown, the WHO said it is “very likely” more cases will be identified before the cause is discovered. Aside from adenovirus and COVID-19, the WHO said that no other epidemiological risk factors have been identified, including recent travel.
Since Friday’s release, fewer than five potential cases have been identified in Ireland, and three cases were confirmed in Spain. The children range in age from 22 months to 13 years old. The WHO has not recommended any related restrictions on international travel.
The CDC had said earlier in the week that they were developing the national health advisory, sent out Thursday, to search for similar cases to those identified in Alabama. The potential connection between adenovirus and these severe acute cases of hepatitis is being “discussed” with international colleagues, according to the Alabama Public Health report.
source: people.com
