Cases of hepatitis of unknown origin are worrying in the United States. American health authorities announced on Friday May 6 that they were investigating 109 cases identified in children in the United States, including five deaths. These cases of severe liver inflammation have been detected in 25 states and US territories, and the affected children have a median age of just 2 years, said an official from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) during a a press conference. Outside the United States, more than 200 cases have been identified, particularly in Europe, said another official.
Because of their young age, the children concerned were for the most part not eligible to be vaccinated against Covid-19. “Vaccination against Covid-19 is not the cause” of this disease, hammered Jay Butler, deputy director in charge of infectious diseases for the CDC, saying he wanted to put an end to rumors circulating on the internet. He clarified that Covid-19 infection was not ruled out as a potential cause. However, the CDC favors the track of a certain type of adenovirus, viruses that are fairly common but which were not previously known to cause cases of hepatitis in healthy children.
