Severe Hepatitis In Children: 3 Possible Cases Found In Illinois

ILLINOIS — Three children under the age of 10 in Illinois have developed severe cases of hepatitis that are believed to be potentially linked to the strain of adenovirus, state health officials said on Monday.

Two of the cases involve children in suburban Chicago, and the other is a case in the western part of the state, the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a news release. One of the young patients required a liver transplant, and health officials are now asking health care providers to beware that other cases of hepatitis may be present around the state.

One of the Illinois cases involves a 4-year-old boy who was brought to Advocate Children's Hospital in Park Ridge roughly two weeks ago with hepatitis, Dr. Vincent Biank, who specializes in pediatric gastroenterology, told NBC Chicago.

Biank said the child also tested positive for adenovirus, a test they conducted following a warning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but health officials are still awaiting further test results to determine if he had the same strain of adenovirus as previous cases reported in the United States.

The announcement in Illinois came after nine cases of hepatitis were reported in Alabama, where patients ranged in age from 1 to 6, the department of health said. All of the patients in Alabama were previously healthy before coming down with symptoms of hepatitis.

NBC News reported that worldwide, hepatitis among children has led to one death and has resulted in 17 patients needing liver transplants.

The CDC reports that symptoms of hepatitis — or inflammation of the liver — include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain and jaundice, and can be caused by viruses. Recent cases in children appear to have an association with adenovirus 41.

Adenoviruses spread from person to person and most commonly cause respiratory illness, but depending on the type, they can also cause other illnesses such as gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines), conjunctivitis (pink eye) and cystitis (bladder infection).

While there have been case reports of hepatitis in immunocompromised children with adenovirus infection, adenovirus type 41 is not known cause hepatitis in otherwise healthy children, the news release said.