The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning clinicians who encounter hepatitis in pediatric patients to consider testing them for adenovirus, following diagnosis of both diseases in nine patients in Alabama.
CDC said in a health alert that the patients were admitted at a large children’s hospital between October 2021 and February 2022. Two of the patients required a liver transplant.
“A possible association between pediatric hepatitis and adenovirus infection is currently under investigation,” CDC said. “Cases of pediatric hepatitis in children who tested negative for hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E were reported earlier this month in the United Kingdom, including some with adenovirus infection.”
The alert asks U.S. clinicians who encounter hepatitis “of unknown etiology” in pediatric patients to consider testing the patients for adenovirus, and to report such cases to CDC and state public health authorities. More information on both diseases is available in the health alert.
Last Updated On
May 03, 2022
Originally Published On
May 03, 2022