Mysterious liver disease affecting children in the UK spreads to the US

The disease, first identified in the UK, has now sickened children in the US and Europe

Waiting times for hospital treatment have increase (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

A new liver disease first identified in the United Kingdom is now affecting children in both the United States and Europe.

Last week, the World Health Organisation announced that it is investigating 74 cases of liver inflammation, or hepatitis, detected in children in the UK since January in an attempt to understand whether the cases are connected.

The cases have troubled health authorities because the sickened children did not present with any of the viruses that typically cause hepatitis. Scientists are looking at other viruses, environmental factors, and Covid-19 as potential causes for the outbreak.

It is now clear that the outbreak is not limited to the UK. Doctors in Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Spain have all reported new cases of hepatitis, while officials in Alabama have said that nine children in the state between the ages of one and six are hospitalised with acute hepatitis.

While some cases of hepatitis are not serious and do not require medical intervention, others are serious and become chronic and life-threatening. Children do not typically suffer from severe hepatitis-related symptoms.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, which is tracking the issue, said that it is not clear what is causing the cases but that children between two and five years of age are being most commonly affected.

None of the children affected have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and some who have been hospitalised have tested positive for the virus, though it is too soon to say conclusively whether there is any link between Covid and this particular infection. Covid-19 infection has been linked to a broad range of health challenges and much about how it affects the body remains unknown.

It is, similarly, too early to say whether another potential culprit, adenoviruses like the ones that cause a range of common illnesses like sore throat and pink eye, might be linked to this outbreak. Five of the nine children in Alabama with the illness tested positive for adenovirus, but not one typically associated with the symptoms they are presenting.

None of the children affected in the UK had traveled internationally before their infections, and there is similarly no obvious links between the children affected in Alabama — all of whom were healthy prior to their infections.

The World Health Organisation, which is also tracking the development of cases, has said that more cases will likely be identified in the coming days and weeks as testing reveals the cause of the outbreak. Concerned parents should be on the lookout for symptoms including vomiting, jaundice, and digestive issues in their young children.

World Health Organisation member states, meanwhile, are being strongly encouraged to identify and report potential new cases.