Details of 9 puzzling hepatitis cases rule out SARS-CoV-2 as culprit, CDC says

Enlarge / Liver lesions in patient with chronic active hepatitis C. (credit: Getty | BSIP)

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ruled out the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, as a possible cause of the puzzling, international outbreak of severe hepatitis (liver inflammation) in children, according to a statement released Friday.

The outbreak has sickened more than 170 children in more than a dozen countries in recent months, with case counts ticking up by the day. Around 10 percent of the children-mostly under the age of 10-have required liver transplants. The World Health Organization has reported one death.

In the US, officials in at least five states have reported at least 25 confirmed or possible cases: Alabama (9), North Carolina (2), Wisconsin (4), Illinois (3), and California (7). At least three of the US cases have required liver transplants and officials in Wisconsin are investigating a possible death linked to the outbreak.

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