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Adenovirus may be behind a cluster of suspected severe hepatitis cases in young children in Illinois, according to health officials.
Healthcare providers in the state are on the lookout for hepatitis symptoms after three suspected cases were reported in children under the age of 10.
In a press release on Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said that of the three cases, one resulted in a liver transplant. Two of the cases were reported from suburban Chicago and the other was in Western Illinois.
"IDPH is working to learn of other suspected cases in Illinois and is asking healthcare providers in the state to be on the lookout for symptoms and to report any suspected cases of hepatitis in children of unknown origin to local public health authorities," the statement read.
Hepatitis is a medical condition in which the liver becomes inflamed, which may affect its function. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of hepatitis can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice.
The CDC suspects that adenovirus—a common type of virus that can cause cold-like symptoms and mild-to-severe illness—may be behind the reported cases, but investigators are still ruling out other possible causes.
The IDPH alert comes just days after the nationwide hepatitis and adenovirus alert issued by the CDC on April 21, in which the federal health agency warned that another cluster of cases had been identified in young children in Alabama.
The CDC said at the time that nine Alabama cases of hepatitis with unknown origin had been reported in young children, all of whom were previously healthy. The cases were identified between October 2021 and February 2022 at a children's hospital in Alabama that had admitted children with what the CDC described as "significant liver injury" including some with acute liver failure. Those children also tested positive for adenovirus infection. All five that were sequenced had a specific type known as adenovirus type 41.
"The more alarming thing about these cases is that these were normal healthy children who developed hepatitis," said Dr. Tina Tan, an infectious disease specialist at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.
The CDC is encouraging parents and caregivers to be aware of hepatitis symptoms and to contact their healthcare provider with any concerns, the IDPH said on Monday. The CDC also recommends that parents and caregivers of young children take everyday preventive actions "including washing hands often, avoiding people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose or mouth."
The recent hepatitis outbreak is not limited to the United States. Globally, there have been 169 cases recorded including one death, the World Health Organization has said. The U.K. Health Security Agency says adenovirus F41 may be the most probable cause.
Scientists are investigating whether there may have been some genetic change in adenovirus that is triggering hepatitis more easily.
