Summary

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to notify clinicians and public health authorities of a recent increase in cases of acute hepatitis and adenovirus infection in children.

From November 2021 to February 2022, clinicians at a large children’s hospital in Alabama identified nine pediatric patients with significant liver injury, including three with acute liver failure, who also tested positive for adenovirus. All children were previously healthy. All five of the nine specimens that were sequenced had adenovirus type 41 infection identified. Two patients required liver transplant; no patients died.

Since being notified of this adenovirus-associated hepatitis cluster, DHS is now investigating at least four similar cases among children in Wisconsin. This includes two children who had severe outcomes, one liver transplant, and one fatality.

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