"The Cypriot Ministry of Health... reports the detection of two cases of acute hepatitis of unspecified etiology, in children aged 5 and 4 years, they fell ill in November 2021 and March 2022 respectively," the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported around 170 cases in 16 countries across the globe with the majority of cases detected in Europe.
The age of the patients ranges from one month to 16 years. Approximately 10% of patients required liver transplantation. At least one death has been reported.
The WHO also specified that the common viruses that cause acute viral hepatitis, like hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E, have not been detected in any of the reported cases, while at least 20 of the patients were tested positive for COVID-19, and 19 had a COVID-19 and adenovirus co-infection.
The organization noted that the new hepatitis is not linked to COVID-19 vaccination and may be caused by an adenovirus.