The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert last week after discovering a children of children diagnosed with rare liver diseases.
The CDC said it’s working with the Alabama Department of Public Health after finding a group of 9 children between the ages of 1 and 6 who were diagnosed with hepatitis.
A sign at the entrance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is seen, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Atlanta.
Hepatitis can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice, and can be caused by viruses.
The cases began in October 2021 when the first children was brought to a children’s hospital in Alabama with liver injuries, including acute liver failure. The children also tested positive for adenovirus, which can cause a number of symptoms, including common cold or flu-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, acute bronchitis (a “chest cold”), pneumonia, pink eye, acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines) and others.
A total of nine cases were found at the hospital. However, no common links were found that could explain each child’s exposure.
Two additional cases have been reported in Illinois and North Carolina.
However, a total of about 200 cases of hepatitis in children have been recorded around the world, mostly in Europe, according to the Associated Press.
Cases have also been reported in Denmark, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.
The CDC says all physicians, especially pediatricians should monitor any symptoms their patients report and report any suspected case of what’s being called hepatitis of unknown origin.