According to a report released by the US Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, nine young infants from Alabama who had inexplicable hepatitis (liver inflammation) all tested positive for a common disease known as adenovirus 41.
According to the World Health Organization, roughly 170 cases have been reported in 11 countries in recent weeks, ranging in age from one to six years old and all of whom were previously healthy. A death is being investigated in another state, Wisconsin.
Even while investigations continue worldwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new study that focuses on the Alabama cluster.
“At this point, we believe adenovirus is the cause of these reported instances,” the CDC said in a statement accompanying the study. “However, other potential environmental and situational factors are currently being examined.”
Adenovirus 41 is known to cause gastroenteritis in children, although the CDC notes that “it is not commonly known as a cause of hepatitis in otherwise healthy children.”
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Other common exposures, such as Covid, hepatitis viruses A, B, and C (the most common causes of hepatitis in the United States), autoimmune hepatitis, and Wilson disease, were all ruled out throughout the inquiry.
Between October 2021 and February 2022, nine Alabama cases were reported. Three of them suffered from acute liver failure, and two of them needed liver transplants.
“All patients, including the two transplant recipients, have healed or are recovering,” the study stated.
Six people tested positive for Epstein-Barr Virus but did not have antibodies, indicating that they had an earlier infection that was no longer active.
The majority of the children had vomiting and diarrhoea before being admitted to the hospital, and several had upper respiratory symptoms. During their stay in the hospital, the majority of the patients had yellowing eyes and skin (jaundice), as well as enlarged livers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert last week, warning doctors and public health officials to be on the lookout for similar instances.
Wisconsin is looking into four cases, two of which resulted in serious consequences, one of which required a liver transplant, and one of which resulted in death. There have also been cases recorded in Illinois and other states.
The CDC advises parents and caregivers to keep their children’s vaccines up to date and to adopt preventive measures such as hand cleanliness, avoiding ill individuals, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth.
Close human contact, respiratory droplets, and surfaces are all frequent ways for adenoviruses to propagate. Adenoviruses are a group of viruses that cause a variety of ailments, including the common cold.
