California has ben added to the list of states reporting severe child hepatitis cases, joining Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. There are seven California hepatitis cases, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The World Health Organization has received reports of at least 169 cases of severe pediatric hepatitis, mostly from Europe. In the United States, there are least 25 cases: nine in Alabama, two in North Carolina, three in Illinois, four in Wisconsin, and seven in California. So far there has been one death in Wisconsin, and four of these children have needed liver transplants.
In most of these cases, the children had gastrointestinal symptoms before jaundice appeared. No common exposure has been found, but doctors think that adenovirus is a cofactor. Subtyping on samples from 11 cases in the United Kingdom identified adenovirus type 41F. The most common pathogens found were adenovirus and SARS-CoV-2.
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. It is usually caused by hepatitis viruses, but it can also be triggered by medications, toxins, and alcohol use. It can be very serious, especially in people with liver disease.
Symptoms of hepatitis include fatigue, abdominal pain, especially in the upper right quadrant, sudden nausea and vomiting, intense itching, loss of appetite, clay-colored stools, dark urine, a low grade fever, and jaundice, which is yellowing of the skin and eyes.
If your child has gastrointestinal symptoms, especially diarrhea and vomiting, and develops jaundice, take them to a doctor.
