Childhood Viruses Linked to Severe Hepatitis Outbreaks
A small new study of American children adds to the evidence that the cases of severe, unexplained hepatitis in previously healthy children may have been caused by a simultaneous infection with multiple common viruses, including one known as adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2). AAV2 is not typically associated with disease, and it requires a second “helper” virus in order to replicate. Many of the children with unexplained hepatitis, or liver inflammation, were infected with multiple helper viruses. The timing of the outbreak may have been related to the loosening of pandemic precautions, leaving large numbers of young children exposed to common viruses they had not previously encountered.