By Erika Edwards—
NBC News
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has alerted doctors across the country to be on the lookout for an outbreak of unusual cases of severe hepatitis in children.
The agency issued a health advisory on Thursday after registering nine cases in Alabama, and another two in North Carolina, according to state health departments.
Dozens of cases have also been identified in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control announced Tuesday.
Hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver, a disease that can cause diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
Some of the Alabama children developed jaundice, and blood tests showed signs of elevated liver enzymes.
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Several children in that state
needed a liver transplant.
No deaths have been reported.
All were between
1 and 6 years old and healthy before,
without any underlying conditions.
Bailey Pennington, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, said two "school-age" children developed severe hepatitis but have recovered.
"No cause has been found and no common exposures have been identified," Pennington said in a statement.
In Europe, cases have generally been observed in children aged 2 to 5 years.
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Viruses are often the cause of liver inflammation, particularly hepatitis viruses types A, B, C, D and E. All clinical laboratories in the US are required to report these viruses when they are discovered, so that health authorities can work to stop outbreaks.
However,
so far all common hepatitis viruses have been ruled out.
The researchers also assured that neither COVID-19 nor coronavirus vaccines have anything to do with these cases of hepatitis.
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“None of the children in the group tested positive for COVID-19.
None had previously reported the illness," said Dr. Karen Landers, a health officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health, adding, "None of the children received the vaccine."
Increasing evidence points to a virus not usually associated with hepatitis:
adenovirus type 41.
According to the CDC, this particular type of virus is known to cause vomiting and diarrhea in children, as well as respiratory symptoms similar to those of the common cold.
"Although cases of hepatitis have been reported in immunocompromised children with adenovirus type 41 infection, adenovirus type 41 is not known to be a cause of hepatitis in otherwise healthy children," the CDC said in its alert.
Five of the nine Alabama children tested positive for the virus.
Their cases occurred between October and February.
The CDC health advisory urges “Physicians who may encounter pediatric patients with hepatitis of unknown etiology to consider testing for adenoviruses and request reporting of these cases to state public health authorities and CDC.” ”.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health said California officials are "closely monitoring the situation" and "will work with health care providers to detect cases in California."
"Noninfectious causes of hepatitis or cases where a virus is not recognized may not be routinely reported," said AnneMarie Harper, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
"We will be reaching out to Colorado health care providers to share information and actively monitor potential cases in Colorado consistent with these reports."
Idaho State Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn also said her team is reaching out to pediatric infectious disease physicians and pediatric gastroenterologists.
“So far they are not reporting any cases,” he said.
"Pay attention".
