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The
WHO said that the European Region accounted for half the
probable cases, including 267 from the United Kingdom, while a
third of the probable cases were from the United States.
Health authorities globally have been investigating the
mysterious rise in severe cases of hepatitis - or liver
inflammation – in young children. The outbreak was first
reported in April in Britain and has since then hit dozens of
other countries.
U.S. health officials say infection with adenovirus, a common
childhood virus, is the leading hypothesis for the cases.
The latest WHO data was as of June 22 and excluded four
countries with reported cases yet to be classified.
Of the 422 cases in which gender and age-related information is
available, close to half occurred in males, with most of them
under 6 years of age, according to the report.
The WHO said 45 children with acute hepatitis have required
liver transplants, and there have been 18 deaths, most of them
occurring in the Americas region.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Aditya Soni)
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