Three Indonesian children have died from a mysterious liver disease, the country's health ministry says, as global concern continues to grow.
Severe cases of acute hepatitis, or liver inflammation, have been identified in over 220 children around the world. Most cases were in Europe, but others have been recorded in South East Asia, the US and the Western Pacific.
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Nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain are among reported symptoms and it has affected children aged between one month to 16 years.
Indonesia's health ministry said three children had died in Jakarta hospitals after displaying some of the symptoms.
The children, aged two, eight and 11, had fever, jaundice, convulsions and loss of consciousness, a ministry spokesperson said.
Enrique Perez, incident manager with the Pan American Health Organization, said during their weekly briefing that since April 5, when the World Health Organization had been notified of these acute hepatitis in previously healthy children under the age of 10, the number of probable cases is now at 228.
British health officials have been investigating the cause of the spike of acute hepatitis, and have said there is increasing evidence that it is linked to a common virus.
Adenovirus, a common group of viruses, is now circulating in children at higher than average levels after dropping to unusually low levels during the pandemic.
Health officials have ruled out any links to Covid-19 vaccines, saying none of the affected children were vaccinated.
While no cases have been reported in New Zealand at this stage, the Ministry of Health is monitoring the situation.
In a statement last week, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health told 1News it is "aware of and monitoring updates on the hepatitis outbreak overseas".
READ MORE: Ministry of Health on watch for kids' mystery liver illness in NZ
The ministry said while it is "not aware of similar cases in New Zealand", it has requested the paediatric surveillance unit to "assess cases of acute hepatitis in New Zealand children to determine whether we have seen potential cases in New Zealand, how many and their severity".
"This is an evolving situation and we are in regular contact with colleagues in Australia to align our testing and surveillance."
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