Hundreds of children are hospitalised with hepatitis every year - and the number is likely to rise as unexplained cases continue to increase. Exclusive figures from the NHS reveal that children under the age of 15 were admitted to hospitals in England with the condition on at least 854 occasions in the year to March 2022.
However, the figures are provisional, and so are likely to be an underestimate of the true number. Even with this shortfall, the number was up from 648 hospitalisations of children with hepatitis in 2020/21, with a dip in cases during the pandemic.
It was also a five year high - with the increase particularly notable among children aged between five and 10. As these latest, exclusive figures only go up to March, they have yet to take into account the unexpected rise in cases of acute hepatitis in previously healthy children seen from April.
Since then, 158 children in England have been diagnosed with unexplained hepatitis, along with 31 in Scotland, 17 in Wales, and 16 in Northern Ireland. Cases have also risen overseas, with at least 650 children diagnosed with mysterious and severe infections since April, reported across 33 different countries.
Acute hepatitis is severe liver inflammation, and is usually the result of a viral infection - or in adults, liver damage caused by drinking alcohol. Most of the unexplained cases seen in the UK have been in children under the age of five, who had diarrhoea and nausea followed by jaundice - yellowing of the skin or eyes.
Some children in the UK have needed a liver transplant. None have died from the illness so far, but there have been deaths overseas. Globally, at least 38 children have required a transplant, and nine have died, according to the World Health Organisation.
WHO say that in this outbreak of acute hepatitis, cases have been more severe and a higher proportion have developed acute liver failure compared to previous reports. The UK Health Security Agency is currently investigating a strong link with a common virus called adenovirus, as well as other factors including the effect of previous infections, such as Covid, or two infections occurring at the same time.
Dr Renu Bindra, senior medical adviser and incident director at UKHSA, said: "We are working with other countries who are also seeing new cases to share information and learn more about these infections. The likelihood of children developing hepatitis remains extremely low.
"Maintaining normal hygiene measures, including making sure children regularly wash their hands properly, helps to reduce the spread of many common infections, including adenovirus. We continue to remind everyone to be alert to the signs of hepatitis - particularly jaundice, look for a yellow tinge in the whites of the eyes - and contact your doctor if you are concerned."
Other symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-coloured stools, and joint pain.
