OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nine cases of pediatric hepatitis have been documented across Nebraska, over a roughly six-month period, and the Douglas County Health Department said Friday it was investigating two cases in Douglas County.
Since November 2021, the nine identified cases of the illness have appeared across six health jurisdictions.
“We are asking providers to let the Health Department know if they are treating a patient less than ten years old with a case of hepatitis from an unknown cause," said DCHD Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse in a press release. "We know that this may be concerning to parents, but this is still a rare illness."
DCHD's investigation into the two cases of pediatric hepatitis involves patients who are less than 10 years old and "no transplants or deaths have been identified" in Douglas County.
Last month, the CDC issued a Health Alert Network Advisory to notify the public and healthcare providers that a cluster of pediatric hepatitis cases had been identified in Alabama, but the origin of the illness was also unknown there. However, the CDC is examining a possible link between pediatric hepatitis cases with adenovirus, a virus that does not cause hepatitis itself but can be spread via close personal contact, respiratory droplets and through microscopic means from contaminated surfaces.
Adenovirus can result in symptoms resembling a stomach bug, common cold or pink eye. Hepatitis, on the other hand, can result in acute liver failure like some of the pediatric patients in the Alabama cluster of cases.
“So far, we are not sure if these hepatitis cases came from an adenovirus infection or another source that is still to be identified,” said Huse in the DCHD's press release.
The CDC is also asking doctors to test for adenovirus if they encounter a child with hepatitis from an unknown origin. Meanwhile, the DCHD and CDC recommend the regular means of preventing respiratory illness such as handwashing, avoiding contact with others when sick and refraining from touching your face after touching surfaces in public.
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