WHO: Several hundred cases of childhood hepatitis of unknown origin in 34 countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed on Thursday that the number of children infected with an acute hepatitis virus of unknown origin increased to at least 700 cases.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that cases have been confirmed in 34 countries, and another 112 cases are under investigation.

At least 38 children infected with the virus had to undergo liver transplantation, of whom ten died while waiting for a new organ.

Health authorities in the United Kingdom reported on Thursday that 18 additional British children have fallen ill with the mysterious acute hepatitis. The total number of accumulated cases in that country has risen to 240 since the first case was detected in January.

Hepatitis has been reported mainly in children under the age of five, although it also occurred in a "small number" of those over the age of 10, according to reports published by the Daily Mail.

In mid-May, Dr. Petter Brodin and Dr. Moshe Arditi published a scientific study in the medical journal The Lancet, in which they investigated the possible causes of the detected cases of acute hepatitis. They noted that in 18% of the cases reported in the United Kingdom, as well as in 11% of the cases in England, the children tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on admission to the hospital.

Previously, WHO said that the increase in cases of acute hepatitis in children of unknown origin is a "very urgent" issue.

"We are making this a top priority, as well as working very closely with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on management and coordination," WHO Regional Director for Emergencies Gerald Rockenschaub said at the time.