Kids Are Developing Severe Hepatitis, Prompting The CDC To Issue A Warning

ATLANTA, GA — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued a warning for U.S. physicians after several cases of severe hepatitis were reported in young children in two different states.

Nine cases have been reported in Alabama, and two have been identified in North Carolina, NBC News reported, citing health officials in both states. The children, ages 1 through 6, were previously healthy, and none had COVID-19, according to the CDC.

Dozens of cases have also been identified in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced Tuesday.

Hepatitis refers to inflammation of the liver that can be caused by viral infections, alcohol use, toxins, medications and certain other medical conditions, according to the CDC. In the United States, the most common causes of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C viruses.

Signs and symptoms of hepatitis include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain and jaundice.

Several U.S. children who had hepatitis also tested positive for adenovirus, a virus that most commonly causes respiratory illness but, depending on the adenovirus type, can cause other illnesses such as gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, cystitis and, less commonly, neurological disease.

There is no specific treatment for adenovirus infections, according to the CDC.

No deaths have been reported; however, two children in Alabama became so ill they needed liver transplants, according to the CDC.

Bailey Pennington, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, told NBC News the two "school-aged" children in that state who developed severe hepatitis have since recovered.

"No cause has been found and no common exposures were identified," Pennington said in a statement to NBC News.