The CDC report found no Covid link in cases of childhood hepatitis in Alabama.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appeared to exclude Covid as a factor. A mysterious case of severe hepatitis in a childAt least in the nine cases identified in Alabama.

The ReportPublished on Friday, details Alabama case, This first attracted attention to liver disease in the United States. last week, CDC issued a warning Advise doctors across the country to be aware of cases of abnormal hepatitis.

Currently, at least 10 cases are being investigated in the other 6 states. One is Delaware, three are Illinois, two are North Carolina, and four are Wisconsin. The Georgia and New York State Departments of Health also said they were investigating “a handful” of potential cases.

At least three children need a liver transplant, and Wisconsin officials are investigating the death of one child.

According to a new report, Alabama children had never tested positive for Covid when they were admitted to the hospital, and there were no previously recorded cases of illness. No one was vaccinated with the Covid vaccine.

The children (7 girls and 2 boys) were 1 to 6 years old, had a median age of 2 years, and were all diagnosed with hepatitis from October to February. On February 1, a state-wide warning was issued to doctors, but no other patients were identified.

All patients were treated at the Children’s of Alabama, a hospital in Birmingham, but were welcomed from different parts of Alabama.

Dr. Markus Buchfellner, a pediatric infectious disease fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, co-author of the study, was the first to notice an unusual pattern of unexplained hepatitis in these children.

“When you come to the hospital and see healthy children with signs and symptoms of hepatitis, the virus is the most common cause,” Buchfellner told NBC News.

All used to be healthy children, but there were no underlying health problems. However, none of the normal hepatitis-causing viruses, such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C virus, were positive. Several other causes of hepatitis in children were also ruled out.

Six children have shown signs of past infections with the Epstein-Barr virus, but it remains unclear whether reactivation of these older infections can play a role.

However, all nine children tested positive Adenovirus, Usually a virus associated with cold-like symptoms. Five of the nine were tested positive for a particular type: adenovirus 41.

Adenovirus 41 has not been proven to be the cause of these cases, but Buchfellner said it could be an important clue.

“This is one of the main reasons to publish our case series, discuss it with the CDC, investigate it, and see if there is a real link between adenovirus and hepatitis,” he said. ..

According to the report, certain viruses are a common cause of gastrointestinal illness in children, with symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and often respiratory symptoms.

Seven patients reported vomiting, six reported diarrhea, and three reported upper respiratory symptoms.

Symptoms associated with liver problems were also common, such as yellowing of the white areas of the eyes in 8 children and liver enlargement in 6 children.

One child suffered from encephalopathy, a type of brain function.

Also mysterious: Doctors performed liver biopsies on some patients, but no adenovirus particles were found in any of them.

According to Buchfellner, the virus that causes hepatitis attacks organs and can usually be detected in liver tissue.

The reason why the virus was found in the patient’s blood, but not necessarily in the liver, is an area of ​​ongoing research.

“Some of my theories are that it may be related to the timing of biopsies and specimens we sent that are virus-free,” Buchfellner said. “This is one of the big questions I hope to answer by examining the liver tissue affected by other patients across the country.”

Adenovirus type 41 spreads primarily from the faeces, re-emphasizing the importance of proper hand washing.

According to the World Health Organization, about 170 cases of unexplained severe hepatitis in children have been reported in 16 countries.

Most of these patients are in the UK, where the incidence of adenovirus has risen recently, and Richard Pebody, head of the WHO / Europe High Threat Pathogen Team, said Thursday. Online Q & A session..

WHO warns doctors around the world to be aware of cases of such abnormal hepatitis.

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