Hawaii is probing a case of mysterious hepatitis in a child less than ten years old, it was revealed Monday, joining 24 other states that have reported a combined 110 cases and five deaths from the disease.
The state’s Department of Health said the child was hospitalized with abdominal pain and fever on Maui, its second largest island, at the end of April.
The condition of the unnamed child is unclear, and it is unknown whether he was discharged from the hospital.
Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed the grim fatality tally in the U.S., which is the largest in the world. Only Indonesia has also reported deaths from the condition, recording three last week.
A total of 15 American children also required liver transplants as a result of the disease.
More than 300 cases have been reported worldwide with most in the UK (160) and U.S. (109), although this is likely because the pair of nations have better surveillance than their peers.
Scientists are puzzled as to what is causing the outbreak, but the leading theory suggests it could be due to adenovirus — a cause of the common cold — with the majority of America’s cases testing positive for this.
Other hypotheses being investigated include that lockdowns have weakened children’s immunity, or that a previous Covid infection or even exposure to a pet dog could be to blame. The normal causes — hepatitis virus A, B, C, D and E — have all been ruled out.
The above map shows the 25 states that have confirmed or suspected hepatitis cases according to the CDC. Hawaii today became the 25th state to reveal it is probing a suspected case of the illness (yellow). Puerto Rico has also reported at least one case
Revealing the case Monday, Hawaii’s Department of Health said: ‘An extensive medical investigation was performed and there are a number of laboratory test results outstanding.
‘At this time, no cause has been determined. DOH is collaborating with the CDC to identify the cause of the hepatitis case.’
Cases of the mysterious hepatitis have now been detected in 25 states, including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
A case has also been reported in Puerto Rico.
The CDC has refused to reveal where the five U.S. deaths occurred, citing ‘confidentiality issues’.
But at least one was in Wisconsin, where the Department of Health confirmed last month it was probing a fatality linked to the illness.
In a press conference last week, the CDC’s deputy director for infectious diseases, Dr Jay Butler said most of the youngsters had ‘fully recovered’ following the illness.
He said scientists were still probing cases to establish a cause but that adenoviruses were ‘top of the list’.
However, Butler added it was unclear whether an adenovirus infection alone was causing the illness or if it was linked to an immune reaction to a particular strain or something the children had been exposed to.
He stressed, however, that the CDC was not recording a significantly higher number of hepatitis cases in children than it expected for this time of year.
‘I think we are seriously considering whether or not this may be something that has happened ata low level for a number of years, and we just haven’t documented it,’ he said.
Last week the World Health Organization said it was investigating 50 possible causes of the illness.
Hepatitis is normally rare in children, but earlier this year the UK raised the alarm over a mysterious outbreak in children after spotting more cases in January than it would normally expect.
Other countries quickly followed, with the U.S. reporting its first nine cases in Alabama last month. Each of those children required hospital care.
CDC chiefs admitted they had been aware of the cases but did not raise an alert initially because it appeared to be an isolated incident.
They have since issued a health notice asking any states with mysterious hepatitis cases to report them.
Top experts fear health officials will not get to the bottom of what is behind the outbreak for at least another two months, however.
Parents are being told that despite the spate of cases there is an ‘extremely low’ risk of their child coming down with hepatitis.
They are being advised to keep an eye out for the key warning signs, however, been told that their children face a very low risk of coming down with hepatitis.
Jaundice — the yellowing of the skin and whites of eyes — is the most common sign, followed by vomiting and pale stools.
Dr Meera Chand, the director of emerging infections at the UK Health Security Agency, said: ‘It’s important parents know the likelihood of their child developing hepatitis is extremely low.
‘However, we continue to remind everyone to be alert to the signs of hepatitis – particularly jaundice, look for a yellow tinge in the whites of the eyes – and contact your doctor if you are concerned.
‘Our investigations continue to suggest that there is an association with adenovirus and our studies are now testing this association rigorously.
‘We are also investigating other contributors, including prior SARS-COV-2, and are working closely with the NHS and academic partners to understand the mechanism of liver injury in affected children.’
The liver inflammation condition has also been spotted in Spain (22), Israel (12), Italy (9) and Denmark (6), among other countries.
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