CDC INVESTIGATES 109 CASES OF SEVERE HEPATITIS IN CHILDREN

Patients identified in 24 states; cause remains unknown

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 109 cases of severe hepatitis of unknown cause in children, officials said Friday. Five of the children have died.

Jay Butler, the CDC’s deputy director for infectious diseases, said the cases date back to October and were found in 24 states and one territory. More than 90 percent of the patients were hospitalized and 14 percent received liver transplants, he said. The majority have recovered, he said.

The cases, which have been discovered in at least 20 countries, continue to mystify scientists, who have been unable to pinpoint the cause. Officials say severe hepatitis in young children remains rare and urge parents not to panic but be on alert for unusual signs including jaundice — which causes yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes — dark urine and light stool.

“Although rare, children can have serious hepatitis and it’s not uncommon for the cause to be unknown,” Butler said. He said there has not been a “significant increase” in the number of pediatric hepatitis cases or liver transplants, including before the pandemic.

A chief suspect is the adenovirus — a common family of some 50 viruses that cause symptoms ranging from colds and stomach upsets to pinkeye and, in rare cases, to conditions that affect the brain or spinal cord. About half the U.S. children whose hepatitis cases are under investigation had a confirmed adenovirus infection, Butler said, but officials do not yet know if it is the cause of the illnesses.

Officials do not yet know what role other factors, such as environmental exposure, medications or other infections might play in the illnesses.

“This is a very rare presentation of a common scenario,” said Helena Gutierrez, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children’s of Alabama.

Nine children were diagnosed at the hospital between October and February, all of whom were previously healthy and had the adenovirus in their blood, officials said.

Butler said none of the Alabama children were vaccinated against COVID-19. That has been ruled out as a possible cause, “and we hope this information helps clarify some of the speculation circulating online.” None of the children in Alabama had received a coronavirus vaccine, officials said.