CDC alerts providers to hepatitis cases of unknown origin in children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today alerted clinicians and public health authorities to a cluster of children with hepatitis and adenovirus infection, and asked clinicians to report any suspected hepatitis cases of unknown origin to their state and local health departments. 

CDC and the Alabama Department of Public Health are investigating nine hepatitis cases of unknown origin in children aged 1-6, all of whom were previously healthy. The first cases were identified last October, when a children’s hospital admitted five children with liver injury of unknown cause who also tested positive for adenovirus. The hospital later identified four additional pediatric patients with hepatitis and adenovirus. 

The World Health Organization also recently reported an increase in pediatric hepatitis of unknown cause in Europe.