South Dakota is now probing a case of child hepatitis, becoming the twelfth state to report the disease — after a child in Wisconsin died from the condition.
Health chiefs in the state said the patient was less than 10 years old and lived in Brown County, on the North Dakota border.
It takes the U.S. total to at least 32 confirmed or suspected cases of unexplained hepatitis, including five liver transplants and one death.
Four children are thought to have died from the disease globally, after Indonesia said it was investigating three fatalities.
More than 220 cases have been spotted to date — most in the UK — and there have been 18 liver transplants, but experts warn this could be just the 'tip of the iceberg'.
Scientists are puzzled by the spate of cases because none of the affected children have tested positive for normal hepatitis-causing viruses.
They have linked many to adenovirus — which can trigger the common cold — and have even suggested lockdowns or a previous Covid infection could be responsible.
South Dakota today became the twelfth state in America to report hepatitis, as health officials probe a case in a child less than 10 years old
