TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — Tarrant County Public Health reported Thursday the first case of pediatric hepatitis of unknown origin.
Local health officials said the patient is a resident of Tarrant County and was hospitalized at a facility in another county. The hepatitis resolved and the child was discharged.
In the last seven months, 36 states and territories in the United States have reported 180 cases of pediatric patients under investigation for hepatitis of unknown cause. The CDC is investigating cases and conducting laboratory tests to examine possible causes.
The best available evidence points to a fairly common stomach bug that isn't known to cause liver problems in otherwise healthy kids. That virus was detected in the blood of stricken children but — oddly — it has not been found in their diseased livers.
“There's a lot of things that don't make sense,” said Eric Kremer, a virus researcher at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of Montpellier, in France.
More than 20 other countries have reported hundreds more cases in total, though the largest numbers have been in the U.K. and U.S.
Severe hepatitis in children remains rare, however, parents and caregivers should remain aware of hepatitis symptoms such as jaundice, which is yellowing of the skin and eyes, fever, fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, and light-colored stools. Should any concern arise, the child’s healthcare provider should be contacted.
Officials say parents should help their children take everyday actions to help prevent disease, like washing hands often, avoiding people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes, and teaching them to avoid touching the eyes, nose, or mouth.
