More than 100 children in the UK have required hospital care for hepatitis - inflammation of the liver - since the start of the year, with the majority of cases occurring in children under the age of five.
A lack of exposure to a common virus during Covid restrictions could be behind the surge in cases among young children, experts have suggested. At least 169 cases have been reported globally, with the majority - 114 - reported in the UK, according to the World Health Organisation. One child has died and 17 more have needed urgent liver transplants.
Ten of those children requiring transplants were from the UK. The leading line of inquiry is that the cases are being fuelled by a common virus called the adenovirus, which usually causes mild illnesses including stomach upsets and colds.
