6th child dies in connection to mysterious hepatitis cases with unknown cause

Officials had previously reported that the deaths of five other children were also under investigation in connection to the hepatitis cases.

Another child in the U.S. has died in connection with the mysterious cases of severe hepatitis that have been occurring among children around the country and the globe, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Friday.

Investigators learned of the additional death on Thursday, Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases for the CDC, told reporters during a phone briefing.

Officials had previously reported that the deaths of five other children were under investigation in connection to the disease.

"Unfortunately, the illness in many of these patients is severe ... and the extent of the injury to the liver can be quite extensive. And so, this is clearly a severe disease that we're taking very carefully for that reason, and the proportion of these, despite treatment, do unfortunately die," said Dr. Umesh Parashar, chief of the viral gastroenteritis branch at the CDC's Division of Viral Diseases.