A sixth child has died in the United States from puzzling liver inflammation—aka hepatitis—and the number of unexplained cases has risen to 180 across 36 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest death was announced in a press briefing Friday, led by CDC Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases Jay Butler, who said it was reported to the agency Thursday. He did not indicate in which state the death occurred.
In addition to the deaths, 15 of the 180 cases required liver transplants, Butler reported. The cases all occurred in children under the age of 10 but skewed to preschool-age children, with the median age being around 2 years.
The latest US tallies feed into a global phenomenon that now includes over 600 cases across 31 countries, including 15 deaths. But, despite the growing numbers, international health experts are still scrambling to understand what's behind the illnesses after eliminating the most obvious possibilities, such as hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E.
Previously:
CDC Raises Alarm of Mysterious Hepatitis Cases in Kids; 2 States Report Cases
Related Stories
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a health alert Thursday notifying clinicians of a US-based cluster of unexplained cases of liver inflammation in young children, which appear to be part of a puzzling international outbreak that now spans at least 10 countries and two US states.
According to the CDC, Alabama has seen nine cases of unexplained liver inflammation—aka hepatitis—in children between the ages of one and six since October of last year.
[...]
North Carolina is also investigating two cases in school-aged children, neither of which required transplants.The unexplained cases join dozens of others from around the world, mostly in children younger than 10 and many less than five. The United Kingdom has tallied 108 cases this year
Researchers in the United Kingdom have come up with the most detailed, complex hypothesis yet to explain the burst of mysterious cases of liver inflammation—aka hepatitis—in young children, which has troubled medical experts worldwide for several months.
[...]
In two new reports, UK researchers offer a fresh hypothesis that may be the clearest but most complex explanation. Their data suggests that the cases may arise from a co-infection of two different viruses—one of which could be an adenovirus and the other a hitchhiking virus—in children who also happen to have a specific genetic predisposition to hepatitis.In one of the new studies, looking at nine early cases in Scotland, researchers found that all nine children were infected with adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2). This is a small, non-enveloped DNA virus in the Dependoparvovirus genus. It can only replicate in the presence of another virus, often an adenovirus but also some herpesviruses. As such, it tends to travel with adenovirus infections, which spiked in Scotland when the puzzling hepatitis cases arose.
Previously:
Sixth Child in US Dies of Unexplained Hepatitis as Global Cases Top 600 - May 24th 2022
CDC Raises Alarm of Mysterious Hepatitis Cases in Kids; 2 States Report Cases - April 22nd 2022
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @12:22AM (26 children)
It morphed your covid
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @12:47AM (4 children)
ya, that was what came first to mind.
Are we going to hear about how these Vaxs are now going to trigger something not accounted for? (or, tinfoilhat accounted for?)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday May 25 2022, @10:26AM
Why?
Rather than a novel disease like covid?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @02:30PM (1 child)
Repeat after me ...Correlation does not imply causation.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Freeman on Wednesday May 25 2022, @02:42PM
In this case, there's not much correlation either as a number of the kids who got it, never had a COVID vaccine.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/cdc-warns-of-puzzling-hepatitis-cases-in-kids-cases-in-2-states-10-countries/ [arstechnica.com]
Also, from another article:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/05/cdc-reports-109-cases-of-puzzling-hepatitis-cases-in-kids-5-deaths/ [arstechnica.com]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday May 25 2022, @08:30PM
Well children under 5 aren't approved to get the vaccine yet so what came to your two minds first is dumb.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Sulla on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:14AM (19 children)
Unless they can show in the study that every kid that got hepatitis had the Vax its kind of early to claim them to be related. I'm not saying its not possible but it is kind of a stretch at this point. Plus we all know they are safe and effective at preventing
transmission,infection, and severe illness so its insulting to even imply this.From the limited evidence we have, I would also like to see the data on whether the kids who died got their full series of childhood vaccinations. Depending on your state/country it was impossible to get a doctors appointment in the early pandemic to get their shots. And even if you could get in to get them, it was often outside the normal vaccination series timing windows.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2, Interesting) by RS3 on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:33AM (12 children)
There are so many possible factors. Mother's milk, excessively clean, excessive anti-bacterial soaps, and far more factors than I can remember hearing / reading about over the years, so who really knows. It's likely difficult to compile and correlate data and causation.
(Score: 2, Troll) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:55AM (11 children)
It is undeniably difficult to prove causality, impossible in the current number of cases.
The leading suspect seems to be a rare side effect of
an otherwise mild COVID infection.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @02:31AM
Who says that beside you and that AC? Based on what?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by janrinok on Wednesday May 25 2022, @06:03AM (9 children)
Citation please? I'm not saying that I know that you are wrong - but I have not even heard that being mentioned anywhere else.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @07:44AM (3 children)
I will say it, JoeMerchant is making shit up again. They won't find such an article because TFA correctly states that the primary suspect is Ad41.
The US CDC says, "Some other causes have been ruled out for the children in Alabama, including: The virus that causes COVID-19" and "Investigators are examining a possible relationship to adenovirus type 41 infection."https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/investigation/hepatitis-unknown-cause/overview-what-to-know.html
The EU CDC goes into more detail by stating, "the current leading hypothesis is that a co-factor affecting young children having an adenovirus infection [...] triggers a more severe infection or immune-mediated liver damage." https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/increase-severe-acute-hepatitis-cases-unknown-aetiology-children [europa.eu]
Could it still turn out to be a SARS-CoV-2 infection? Yes, it very well could be. But leaving open the possibility is a far cry from saying that it is "the leading suspect." Unless you want to just make up shit for whatever reason.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 25 2022, @02:00PM (2 children)
https://lmgtfy.app/?q=covid+link+to+hepatitis [lmgtfy.app]
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @10:09PM (1 child)
I'd suggest working on your reading comprehension.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @03:24AM
Rather than literal trolling, maybe you could use your gargantuan intellect to explain how the linked article does not connect hepatitis with covid?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:57PM (4 children)
Here's one: https://gut.bmj.com/content/69/Suppl_1/A22 [bmj.com]
it has 11 citations since September 2020.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday May 25 2022, @02:44PM (3 children)
I don't see any convincing connection to children but you can read it that way if you wish.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 25 2022, @04:14PM
While there are 600 reported cases worldwide, there are far fewer with solid data about the childrens' history, comorbidities, etc.
It could be Hepatitis G (as yet unidentified) or it could be that COVID variant X is a source of pediatric hepatitis, or one of a million other things - at this point.
I'm open to better connections currently published in peer reviewed literature.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @10:33PM
The syndrome they are citing and the syndrome the summary and all the news is about are two different syndromes.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday May 27 2022, @01:02PM
They have also found correlation with Adenovirus 41:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON376 [who.int]
Not causation, of course, but what true scientist would call causation with so little data?
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 0, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:52AM (5 children)
The early reports on this stated that most of the victims were not vaccinated, which might imply that they were more likely to have experienced a bad case of COVID.
However, AC's point stands: the COVID circulating in the wild today has been shaped by the vaccines. Proving a causal link between the vaccines and this hepatitis outbreak is virtually impossible (not to mention painting a target on the people attempting to make such a link). Still, the COVID we have today is undeniably different than the COVID we would have had without vaccines.
Are vaccines bad? On balance, no. But they are not 100% good, either.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 5, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:58AM (3 children)
You are saying statement X is impossible to disprove, so there must be something to it.
That AC has no point, and you are an idiot for supporting it.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @05:48AM (2 children)
no, no, you don't understand.
what he's saying is that wearing helmets leads to helmet remnants being found in skulls of crushed miners and fallen mountain climbers.
wearing helmets has changed the nature of skullcrushing injuries, which would look very different if we were not wearing helmets.
isn't it obvious?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:29PM
i am going to stop wearing helmets right away.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Freeman on Wednesday May 25 2022, @02:50PM
Sure, you say, it's totally unbelievable. What, if said helmet was more easily damaged than your head and created sharp projectiles that stabbed into your skull, thus killing you?
While vaccines have been very helpful in killing off smallpox and very helpful against some things. It doesn't mean that there are no downsides to vaccinations. In fact, it's possible that there are some serious downsides, given the right set of unfortunate / unforeseen circumstances.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:13PM
Please insert brain between hands and keyboard before you type.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @02:13AM
Wow.. the moderation count on this comment sure shows how seriously people take this "information warfare", believing they are saving the world
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @12:49AM (7 children)
This seems to be popping up all over, so not likely transmitted directly. What to little kids all do? They almost all eat processed baby food and/or infant formula. And many suck on various kinds of pacifiers. I'd start looking at the companies that supply those products.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:10AM (4 children)
Nonsense. All those things existed decades prior to this outbreak. You know what didn't though? COVID. Clearly this is somehow tied to COVID either directly or indirectly by the actions we took when COVID broke out.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @07:40AM (2 children)
Were they tracked, tho? I mean, what COVID did is to heighten the attention given to isolated cases that may come to explode into outbreaks/pandemics.
Ah, yes, and the trauma is far too recent for the journos not to be tempted into the sin of sprinkling a bit of fear...
Think a bit: "600 cases across 31 countries" is likely 600 cases in more than 600 mil. people, or 1/1,000,000. It doesn't feel likely that pre-COVID they'd be tracking so rare events.
Ah, OK, event TFArse admits
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday May 25 2022, @10:35AM
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday May 26 2022, @02:36AM
I had a similar thought, that this isn't really new, but rather all the close peering at Covid has led to identifying random/rare hepatitis cases that previously would have been masked or not diagnosed at all.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @03:28AM
Are you sure they have the exact same chemical makeup as before? Are you sure they're not carriers of some pathogen?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:25AM (1 child)
The cause can only be from two sources.
Russian or China.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday May 26 2022, @01:48PM
Hey, now! I'm not saying it was Aliens.
https://www.amazon.com/Not-Saying-Was-Aliens-But/dp/B01C64VAOC [amazon.com]
But, it was Aliens!
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:49AM (6 children)
Yes, it sucks the kids are dying of mystery hep cases.
But it also sucks that comments are pretty much garbage. It shows that most of us here are computer nerd refugees from that other site, including yours truly, and we pretty much totally failed to attract new bloods, particularly those with expertise other than boomer computer geekery.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @04:29AM (1 child)
I know a number of experts in different fields that use this site. However, they mostly avoid articles about their expertise. Why waste the effort when it will most likely devolve into an argument with an idiot or drowned out by bullshit? Just read the summary, skim the comments, and move on.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25 2022, @12:03PM
I think most of us have had the frustration of trying to share expertise with the "leadership" types, and have learned to keep quiet in the presence of those who place a lot of importance in being the lead dog.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by PiMuNu on Wednesday May 25 2022, @12:59PM
It doesn't take expertise to realise the comments/thoughts that are junk. Some folks lack critical thinking capabilities.
(Score: 1) by unauthorized on Wednesday May 25 2022, @01:12PM (1 child)
I guess we're not going to get to endlessly rehash the "new here" joke anytime soon, but at least we'll always have the "fickin' sharks" one.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @10:12AM
We get lots of new people here all the time. Trouble is they are all Ari.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @03:31AM
I'm glad you posted this. I suggest that if you're somehow offended or bothered by discussion, people sharing thoughts- right or wrong or indeterminate, you should just go away and stay away.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 25 2022, @03:42AM (1 child)
Let me see, we have:
War - most notably in Ukraine, but also Syria and Yemen and a bunch of other places.
Pestilence - I mean, duh.
Famine - not fully set in yet, but lots of reasons to think it's coming.
Death - at least a couple of million from Covid, wars, and climate change, and it's getting worse.
Our so-called "leaders" have been very busy with either trying to cash in or simply ignore the problems. And praying isn't going to get us out of this mess, because that's never actually worked. Our main hope is that ordinary people use whatever time or resources they can get their hands on to do whatever they can to address these problems.
If, for instance, you have fertile land to your name, and no laws stopping you, I'd recommend planting food crops now. Well, actually a few weeks ago, but now's the next-best time to do it. Even if you aren't really good at it, it's still worth a try (potatoes are probably the easiest to start with). Think about whatever you're getting from long distances away on a regular basis, and make a plan for what happens if it's not going to show up. And help your friends and neighbors do the same things, because the last thing you want is desperate and likely-armed neighbors.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by EvilSS on Wednesday May 25 2022, @02:41PM
(Score: 2) by Quicksilver on Thursday May 26 2022, @12:56AM (1 child)
This is reported as alarming "News"?
REALLY?
A quick search says 166,279 people die each day. The article linked articles say that 0.95 people die of this a day (125 in 139 days this year).
Yeah, some doctor/scientist should be looking at this. But in no way shape or form should this be distributed as an alarmist news article when you are far more likely to be killed falling on your front porch.
Geeze!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @06:39AM
so what YOU're saying is "will everyone please stop worrying about nuclear radiation? almost nobody dies from playing with uranium, so why bother preventing it?"