Wisconsin Health Authorities Warn of Childhood Hepatitis Cases

Wisconsin health authorities are investigating four cases of childhood hepatitis, including one patient who needed a liver transplant and one who died after suffering severe liver damage, according to multiple news sources.  

State authorities asked local doctors to look out for symptoms of the rare liver disease in children and conduct adenovirus testing in young patients with symptoms of the disease, including fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice. 

Wisconsin was the fourth state to report a mysterious outbreak, following Alabama, North Carolina, and Illinois, according to a New York Post report.   

Alabama reported nine cases, including two children who needed liver transplants, while Illinois reported three cases, including one that required a liver transplant. Lastly, North Carolina stated that it currently has two active cases.  

On Saturday, the World Health Organization noted that 11 countries identified at least 169 cases of acute hepatitis in children, including 17 who needed liver transplants and one death. 

Patients ranged from one month to 16 years old, and more common forms of liver disease — hepatitis A, B, and C — were ruled out. But a more common cold, adenovirus, was detected in 74 cases, of which 20 patients were also infected with COVID-19.  

The majority of these cases (114) were reported in the United Kingdom, while 13 cases were in Spain, 12 were in Israel, 6 were in Denmark, fewer than 5 were in Ireland, 4 were in the Netherlands and Italy, 2 were in Norway and France, and 1 was in Romania and Belgium.  

The UK Health Security Agency stated that about three-quarters of the 53 sick children who were tested for adenovirus came back positive, according to a CNN report. At the same time, experts found the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 in only a sixth of tested children.  

And Anthony Fauci, MD, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, said the cause of the illness is “still a mystery.”