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.
The CDC, however, favors the trail of a certain type of adenovirus — viruses that are fairly common but which have not previously been known to cause cases of hepatitis in healthy children. It has been confirmed that more than half of the children affected in the United States have tested positive for the so-called “type 41” adenovirus.
“Investigators here and around the world are working hard to determine the cause,” said Jay Butler.
The US cases have occurred over the past seven months, he said. And 14% of affected children had to receive a liver transplant.
“We know that this news can be worrying, especially for parents of young children. It is important to remember that this severe hepatitis is rare,” wanted to reassure Mr. Butler.
If 90% of the children had to be hospitalized, in the majority of cases they recovered afterwards.