The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now investigating 109 cases of unexplained pediatric hepatitis cases in 25 US states and territories, the public health agency said today. Nearly all the children (90%) required hospitalization and 14% needed a liver transplant. While the majority of affected children have recovered, officials said, there have been five reported deaths.
On May 4, the World Health Organization reported that worldwide there are at least 228 probable cases in 20 countries.
More than half of US cases have tested positive for adenovirus, but officials noted that they did not yet know if the virus is the cause of these cases. Other factors continue to be considered, such as environmental exposures, medications, and other infections. These children have tested negative for other more common viruses that may cause acute hepatitis, like Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. And officials said the illnesses are unrelated to COVID-19 vaccination. The median age of affected children is 2 years, officials said, meaning that most are too young to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Any links between these cases and COVID-19 remain unclear. "We are not aware of any cases that are occurring in kids that have documented COVID-19," said Jay Butler, MD, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases at the CDC, in a media briefing.
