Two qualities a first-class science journalist and a first-class physician must have are patience and a skeptical nature. If a new disease appears somewhere, the journalist and the physician need the skepticism to reject easy explanations of the source. As it has been said of war, first impressions are often wrong. The public may lose interest in the disease if it disappears, but the professionals, knowing the disease may reappear, must be patient in uncovering its origins, even if it takes years.
This happened in spring 2022 when nearly 350 otherwise healthy children in the U.S. suddenly contracted an unusually severe form of hepatitis. At least another 1,000 worldwide came down with the disease. According to the World Health Organization, 22 children died, and another 46 required liver transplants.
The usual precipitating causes of hepatitis, generally a benign illness in children, were quickly eliminated. The source became a medical mystery, and coming in the wake of the omicron wave of COVID-19, some observers concluded that either COVID-19 or the vaccine had caused hepatitis.
