Severe Hepatitis In Children: What Ohio Parents Need To Know

OHIO — Federal and state health officials are investigating cases of severe hepatitis among young children in the United States. While no cases have been reported in Ohio, it's important for parents to be aware of the national outbreak, state health officials said.

The presence of an adenovirus infection among patients with hepatitis is a common link in outbreaks that have so far flummoxed both U.S. and European health officials. There appears to be no epidemiological link among cases, researchers have said.

If your child is diagnosed with the adenovirus infection, there's no need to panic, health officials said. Michael Klatte, chief of the Division of Infectious Disease at Dayton Children’s Hospital, told WebMD that “severe hepatitis leading to liver failure is extremely rare.”

“A diagnosis of adenovirus shouldn’t make you reflexively worry it will lead to this rare complication,” he said.

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.

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.

• Related: CDC Issues Alert After Several Kids Develop Severe Hepatitis

Cold-like symptoms typically accompany adenovirus infections, but the virus has never been known to cause hepatitis, according to the CDC. These types of infections typically run their course, with no specific treatment recommended.

In November 2021, five children undergoing treatment for hepatitis at a large children’s hospital — three of them with acute liver failure — tested positive for adenovirus infections, which can cause cold-like symptoms among people of any age. Another four cases of children with both hepatitis and adenovirus infections were subsequently discovered. None of the patients died, but two required liver transplants.