Doctors search for answers to unexplained hepatitis cases in children

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The World Health Organization announced hundreds of acute hepatitis cases that have been diagnosed in children across the world.

Twenty countries have reported probable cases including the United States, and 13 other countries have cases under investigation.

"We want to empower our community to understand what's going on in the world and what's going on in the United States with this very focused outbreak, but we want to balance that with a lack of alarm," explained Dr. Daniel Leung with Texas Children's Hospital.

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver and is rare in children.

"We get questions all the time, 'My child has a fever and a runny nose. Is it possible they have hepatitis?' The answer is most likely not, but again if you see symptoms of dark urine, unusual fatigue, yellowing of the eyes or of the skin, or if your astute pediatrician orders a liver test and it shows very elevated liver enzymes, those patients will want to be referred," said Leung.

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