Hepatitis

A mysterious outbreak of serious liver disease, or acute hepatitis, is impacting young children in the United States and Europe.

It’s true that a specific strain of adenovirus (41) has been identified in the majority of cases, but if and how this has possibly triggered the illness is not yet known. “We are learning more about the cases of acute hepatitis in children and trying to understand any similarities in cases that could help us to identify them sooner. “Mystery illnesses are generally not common, and it can take some time to notice a pattern in cases if they do not happen within a short timeframe. Medical experts are scrambling to identify the cause of the outbreak. Some common symptoms that have been reported in known cases are the presence of diarrhea and jaundice in the absence of fever. The children’s ages range from 1 month to 16 years old.

The C.D.C. issued an alert after clusters of severe hepatitis cases popped up among children around the globe. What signs should parents watch out for?

But for the vast majority of cases — like when a child comes in with liver inflammation and adenovirus — doctors focus on preventing or managing complications. Children should be encouraged to wash their hands often and avoid touching their face and mouth to the extent it is possible — many of the same measures that help prevent the spread of Covid. “I don’t believe that if a child’s skin color changes that a parent is going to say, ‘Oh, that’s OK, let’s wait and see what happens tomorrow.’” Health officials simply want to alert pediatricians and other health care providers who may see young patients with hepatitis that they should now screen for adenovirus. What is unusual is for otherwise healthy young children to become so suddenly ill, which is why public health officials are spreading the word and continuing to probe other possible underlying causes. Parents should also remember that the C.D.C. alert is not a call for action or alarm. But viral hepatitis has been ruled out in the recent pediatric clusters in the United States and abroad. When the liver is inflamed or damaged, it is unable to perform many of those tasks. But doctors and health officials have known that adenovirus infection can cause liver inflammation. “Acute” hepatitis refers to inflammation that comes on relatively quickly and does not last more than six months. Hepatitis symptoms are wide-ranging and overlap with many common illnesses. It’s not uncommon for patients — particularly children — to have liver inflammation in the course of a simple, uncomplicated viral illness, explained Dr. Alexander Weymann, director of the Liver Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

About 190 unexplained cases of severe hepatitis have been reported in children around the world, the European Centre...

An outbreak of 169 cases of acute liver damage (hepatitis) among kids in 12 countries has led to at least one death and 17 liver transplants, according to ...

During the pandemic, cases of adenovirus fell in the U.K., but they're now higher than pre-pandemic levels. Adenovirus has been detected in at least 74 of the 169 cases reported, according to WHO. "Infection with adenovirus type 41, the implicated adenovirus type, has not previously been linked to such a clinical presentation." A Monday briefing from the U.K. Health Security Agency explained that 40 of 53 of the country's cases that had been tested for adenovirus were positive. Investigators for WHO are working to determine the cause of the outbreak, which has been primarily in the United Kingdom. The common viruses that cause acute hepatitis have been ruled out. The children affected range in age from one month to 16 years old.

About 10% of children diagnosed with the disease worldwide have required liver transplants, and at least one child has died, the WHO said. The U.K. Health ...

Adenovirus symptoms range from a sore throat to pneumonia, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain. It’s also possible that children’s immune systems, weakened after months of social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, are now more vulnerable to diseases like hepatitis, Imperial College London liver researcher Simon Taylor-Robinson told Reuters. The CDC found that some U.S. cases in the current outbreak occurred in children who had adenovirus type 41, which usually causes symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. However, adenovirus has not been linked to all cases in the current hepatitis outbreak, and is not known as a case of hepatitis in children without immune disorders, making its role in the outbreak uncertain, the CDC said.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, often caused by a virus and generally rare in healthy children. The first five cases were flagged in Scotland on ...

An "unexpected increase" of adenovirus cases has been recently recorded in several other countries, including Ireland and the Netherlands, the WHO said. The large majority were previously healthy. Adenoviruses — common viruses that cause a range of sicknesses like colds, bronchitis and diarrhoea but mostly do not lead to severe illness — were detected in 74 of the cases, the WHO said. Seventeen of the children — 10 per cent of the 169 known cases — had such severe hepatitis they needed a liver transplant, she said. Maria Buti, a pathologist in Barcelona and chair of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), said the "main concern" is the strain's severity. The United Kingdom has since reported a total of 114 cases, the WHO said in an update on the weekend.

Lack of exposure to adenoviruses due to Covid restrictions is most likely explanation for surge, experts say.

Cases of severe hepatitis among young children have also been detected in 12 other countries, with at least 169 cases reported to the World Health Organization so far. None of the affected children have died. Seven of the transplant cases were in England.

Health officials in the UK have released new details in their ongoing investigation of an unusual series of hepatitis cases in children.

Dozens have recovered and no deaths have been reported in the UK, but 10 children have needed liver transplants. Roughly three-quarters of the 53 children who were tested for adenovirus in the UK came back positive. Many more cases have been announced in the US and other countries around the world.

A deadly strain of hepatitis is spreading in 12 countries around the world. Here's what we know.

“While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent,” WHO said. The UKHSA is advising parents and carers to be alert to signs of hepatitis in children. Severe hepatitis in children is very rare, Meehan said, adding the cause of the “highly unusual” rise in cases is not yet known. “It is not yet clear if there has been an increase in hepatitis cases, or an increase in awareness of hepatitis cases that occur at the expected rate but go undetected,” WHO said in a statement. The causes of hepatitis cases can be varied, but in children it is usually associated with viral infections, says Meehan. The mystery cases of acute hepatitis were first identified in the United Kingdom, but have since spread to Europe and the United States.

At least 169 severe hepatitis cases have been identified in children in an outbreak that involves 12 countries, the World Health Organization announced on ...

The CDC recommended that doctors consider adenovirus testing in children with hepatitis when the cause is unknown. The first U.S. cases were identified in October 2021 at a children’s hospital in Alabama, which admitted five children with significant liver injury, including some with acute liver failure. The CDC is working with the Alabama Department of Public Health to investigate the cluster, which now includes nine children ages 1-6. The U.K., for instance, saw a significant increase in adenovirus infections in the community after low levels of circulation earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in fecal samples in children. A common cold virus, known as an adenovirus, has been detected in at least 74 cases, the WHO said. Although mild pediatric hepatitis can occur, severe hepatitis in healthy children is rare, according to The Guardian.

MONDAY, April 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The World Health Organization said it is investigating an outbreak of acute hepatitis among children that now ...

Nine cases were reported by the Alabama Department of Health last week. Most of the 169 cases were reported in the United Kingdom, which had 114. Among the 169 reported cases, at least one child has died from this inflammation of the liver and 17 children needed liver transplants, the WHO said Saturday in a statement.

MONDAY, April 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The World Health Organization said it is investigating an outbreak of acute hepatitis among children that now ...

The CDC recommended providers consider adenovirus testing in children with hepatitis when the cause is unknown. Nine cases were reported by the Alabama Department of Health last week. The common viruses that cause acute viral hepatitis, including hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E, have not been detected in any of these cases, according to the WHO.

At least 169 cases of acute hepatitis in children aged one month to 16 years old have been identified in an outbreak that now involves 11 countries, ...

But these viruses are only rarely reported as a cause of severe hepatitis in healthy people. Many cases reported gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting "preceding presentation with severe acute hepatitis," as well as increased levels of liver enzymes or alanine aminotransaminase and jaundice. "While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent."

The World Health Organisation has announced that 169 cases of "acute hepatitis" of "unknown origin" have been reported amongst young children across 11 ...

The link between COVID and hepatitis is at least plausible. In the UK, 75% of hepatitis cases had adenovirus infections. The vast majority of these children were previously healthy. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver, which can lead to liver failure and death. No cases have so far been detected in Australia. Parasites and bacterial infections are also common causes of hepatitis.