Clusters of acute hepatitis in kids—many resulting in liver failure—in Europe and the United States are triggering investigations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the illnesses appear to be linked to infections with adenoviruses.

Nine children in Alabama, 3 in Spain, and at least 74 in Scotland and Northern Ireland have been sickened with acute hepatitis since January.

According to a report from the WHO, children present to healthcare providers with markedly elevated liver enzymes, often with jaundice, and they sometimes have gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting. At least 6 of the 74 UK patients required liver transplants, but so far no deaths have been reported.

"Laboratory testing has excluded hepatitis type A, B, C, and E viruses (and D where applicable) in these cases while Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and/or adenovirus have been detected in several cases," the WHO said.

"The United Kingdom has recently observed an increase in adenovirus activity, which is co-circulating with SARS-CoV-2, though the role of these viruses in the pathogenesis (mechanism by which disease develops) is not yet clear."

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