Severe Hepatitis In Children: What Illinois Parents Need To Know

ILLINOIS — Researchers are investigating a mysterious outbreak of severe hepatitis — or inflammation of the liver — among previously healthy young children in 10 states, including Illinois.

The 10 states reporting this type of pediatric liver inflammation are Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, where one child died.

In Illinois, health officials have reported at least three known cases involving children under 10 who have been diagnosed with hepatitis. 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.

Some 200 children, ranging in age from 1 month to 16 years, have suddenly become ill with severe hepatitis. Most cases are in Europe, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide health alert late last month urging pediatricians to test children for adenovirus infections.