‘Mysterious’ hepatitis in children, possibly due to the effect of a mix of common viruses

The mystery of the cases of pediatric hepatitis that occurred in various countries last spring, at least 1,000, which led to 22 deaths and 50 liver transplants has been revealed: they could have been caused by a mix of viral co-infections led by a virus that is in itself non-pathogenic, the so-called adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2)but helped by common cold viruses and fever

It is the result of three independent studies conducted between the United States and Great Britain by the University of San Francisco, the University of Glasgow and University College London, all published on magazine Nature.