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A MYSTERIOUS outbreak of liver disease, or hepatitis, in young children in the UK and several other nations is puzzling experts. The lead hypothesis is that the cases are connected to a normally mild adenovirus called 41F, plus another unknown factor that is making children react abnormally to catching it.

The most likely suspect is that babies and infants went unexposed to the usual childhood infections over the past two years of social distancing. Or it could be that the affected children have had a recent brush with covid-19. Either way, the pandemic is in the spotlight.

The hepatitis outbreak …