Puzzled scientists are investigating a recent outbreak of mysterious hepatitis in young children in the United Kingdom and the United States that is not currently explained by known causes.
Several experts have already made theories and speculations as to what has caused the illness, with some saying it is a resurgence of the coronavirus or a novel or mutated virus. Hepatitis is known to be more commonly caused by a group of five unrelated viruses, hepatitis A through E, but it is actually a formal term for any kind of liver inflammation.
Mysterious Hepatitis Reports
Some of the factors that can cause hepatitis include various infectious diseases, heavy alcohol use, toxins, and some medications. Symptoms of the illness range from fever and fatigue to jaundice, which is the yellowing of the skin and the eyes. Victims could also suffer from nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, and in severe cases, liver failure that can result in death.
Doctors in the UK have, since January of this year, reported a concerning rise of severe, sometimes life-threatening hepatitis among young children. The situation is above the normal baseline rate of incidence. There have already been at least 74 documented cases in the country, as per Gizmodo.
Clinicians in Denmark and the Netherlands have also reported similar cases to the ones found in the UK. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that it was already working to investigate nine cases reported in Alabama.
As of Apr. 12, none of the infected victims in the UK and Spain have died but some of them have severe illnesses. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that all of the children have been admitted to hospitals and seven of them have required liver transplants, six of whom were from the UK.
According to Science, in Alabama, two of the nine affected children have already required liver transplants, said the state's Department of Public Health. A pediatric hepatologist at Birmingham Children's Hospital in England, Deirdre Kelly, said that the situation was a "severe phenomenon."
Investigation of the Illness
Many of the children in the United States who have developed the illness were aged six and under. The district medical officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, Dr. Wes Stubblefield, said that all of the children were otherwise healthy before becoming suddenly ill and noted that there was no obvious link among them.
Scientists have ruled out common hepatitis as the culprit behind the illness, which puts a different virus, known as adenovirus type 41, in the spotlight for potential reasons. Five of the victims in Alabama, who were identified between October 2021 and February, tested for adenovirus type 41.
However, adenoviruses are respiratory viruses that commonly cause colds and are not generally associated with liver damage. Stubblefield said that situation was unusual and noted that the virus has not been associated with the signs and symptoms among victims. The U.S. cases include symptoms of diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Furthermore, blood tests showed they have elevated liver enzymes, NBC News reported.
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