Severe Hepatitis Cases With 'Unknown Cause' Reported In WA: TPCHD

TACOMA, WA — Over 180 children across the country have now been infected with a severe strain of hepatitis, prompting the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to issue a public health advisory warning local parents to be on the lookout for hepatitis symptoms in their kids.

The 180 infections have been reported across 26 states, including here in Washington. Doctors say the spread is especially concerning because the cause of the infections is still unknown. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it's possible the infection is being spread by an adenovirus— common viruses that normally cause cold- or flu-like illnesses. Of the 180 sickened children, 41 were carrying an adenovirus.

While researchers try to confirm the cause of the hepatitis infections, parents and health care providers are being asked to remain vigilant, as an outbreak can have severe, even deadly complications. Of the first 109 cases reported in early May, more than 90 percent of the children had to be hospitalized, 14 percent required liver transplants, and five children died.

Common hepatitis symptoms include:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite.
• Abdominal pain.
• Dark urine.
• Light-colored stools.
• Joint pain.
• Jaundice, or yellow discoloration of the skin and/or eyes.

Parents whose children show symptoms of acute hepatitis infections should contact a medical provider immediately. Meanwhile, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is ordering clinics across the county to collect blood, sputum or stool samples from any pediatric patients they treat who are suffering from hepatitis with an unknown cause.