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Severe hepatitis outbreak in children linked to AAV2 virus

Since 2022, more than 1,000 cases of childhood hepatitis with no known cause have been reported. The discovery of adeno-associated virus 2 in the blood and livers of such children might provide an explanation.
  1. Frank Tacke

    1. Frank Tacke is in the Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany.

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Paediatricians first began to report a concerning wave of acute severe hepatitis — a disease involving liver inflammation — in children in spring 2022. This spate of cases, which now numbers more than 1,000 (see go.nature.com/42dpfv4), had no known cause, unlike most cases of paediatric hepatitis. The cases were often serious, with 7.3% of affected children needing a liver transplant1. Writing in Nature, three groups now independently provide evidence that infection by adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) is linked to this wave2–4. Their work is likely to spark debate, and could influence disease management.

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Nature 617, 471-472 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00570-8

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Competing Interests

F.T.’s laboratory has received research funding at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin from Allergan, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead and Inventiva. F.T. has acted as a consultant for AstraZeneca, Allergan, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Galapagos, Gilead, Intercept, Inventiva, Madrigal, Novartis, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer.

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