Another 34 British children were also affected by the mysterious hepatitis outbreak.
The Health Ministry confirmed that nearly 30 liver inflammation cases have been reported in children under 10 years old since Monday. That brings the UK total of these instances to 145.
These cases include 108 in England, 17 in Scotland, 11 in Wales, and 9 in Northern Ireland. Ten of the cases involved required a liver transplant, but there have not been any deaths.
It comes as experts warned the cause of the peculiar hepatitis pattern — which has been spotted in 200 children worldwide since March — won’t be known for months.
One child has died globally, and another is being investigated in the US. A minimum of 18 children who were sick have required a liver transplant.
Researchers are still puzzled by the mystery of why the patients did not test positive for normal liver-causing viruses.
MailOnline’s leading paediatrician, Professor Alastair Suetcliffe told MailOnline that the cause may not be known until this summer.
It is believed that a common virus, known as the adenovirus (commonly responsible for common cold symptoms), may be at play.
However, there is conflicting evidence as to the reason why the virus can cause serious illness in children who are young and healthy.
More than 200 children have been sickened by the condition across the world in up to 14 countries since last October *cases in Canada, Japan and Wisconsin, Illinois and New York are still yet to be confirmed
In an update today, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said its findings continue to suggest adenovirus may be behind the sudden onset hepatitis cases.
According to the UKHSA, most cases involved children under the age of five. However, there are a few more cases involving children aged 10 and older.
The affected children initially suffered from diarrhoea and nausea, followed by jaundice — yellowing of the skin and whites of eyes.
However, the UKHSA stated that it was not common to observe this type of symptoms in adenovirus. So it continues probing for other possible causes such as Covid.
It also noted that lockdowns may have weakened the immunity of children and left them more susceptible to the virus, or it may be a mutated version of adenovirus.
This agency works with doctors and scientists across the nation to “answer these questions quickly”.
Experts continue to investigate whether there is a new Coronavirus or an existing or concomitant Covid infection.
While hepatitis is not common in children, experts are noticing more cases than usual in Britain’s current epidemic.
According to the World Health Organization, cases are of unknown origin and can be severe.
There are currently 27 confirmed and suspected cases across the US. Seven were announced yesterday in California. Officials are currently investigating one case of child death in Wisconsin.
Researchers have suggested that cases may be only the tip of the Iceberg, and there could be more out there than has been seen so far.
But Professor Sutcliffe said: ‘With modern methods, informatics, advanced computing, real time PCR and whole genome screening, I would think finding the cause with some reasonable reliability will take three months.’
Professor Sutcliffe stated that red tape at international borders could slow down the discovery of the problem, as well as difficulties with transporting biomaterials between countries.
He said that parental consent, data protection, and the laws in place to regulate the UK’s use of human tissues could all help slow down research.
Because cases can have many factors that may not be consistent with each other, it is challenging to find a unknown cause.
MailOnline was also informed by Professor Deirdre Kelley, University of Birmingham paediatric hepatologist. She said it would take several months to identify the cause.
“She said,[These are]It takes time to complete complex investigations.
UK officials say that Covid vaccine has been eliminated as an explanation. However, none of the sick children in Britain have received vaccinations due to their early age.
Experts believe that covid lockdowns could be responsible for the mysterious rash of cases of hepatitis in children. They reduced social interaction and weakened their immunity.
Experts in liver disease described the recent spate of cases to be ‘concerning,’ but advised parents not to worry about their children being affected by the condition.
A European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control official stated that although the condition is rare, the ECDC judged it to pose a risk for children due to its potential consequences.
It stated that the risk to European children is difficult to assess as there was no evidence of transmission and the cases reported in the European Union are sporadic, with an uncertain trend.
The ECDC stated that the epidemic was a concern due to the undetermined causes and potential consequences.
On March 31, the first record of a spike in cases of hepatitis was made in Scotland. One child with the disease was admitted to hospital in January.
The Scottish case can be dated back as far as January.
According to the World Health Organization, at least one child died from the mystery disease.
Wisconsin is the US’s only state that has reported a child dying from hepatitis. It will become the second confirmed case in the entire world if it is.
DailyMail.com was informed by officials from the state that the child developed the disease following infection with the adenovirus.
Many of the children infected were below the age of 10 and under 5 years. There were no other health issues.
To stop cases spreading, the agency suggested that hygiene and surveillance practices be improved.