BOSTON (WHDH) - State health officials announced Tuesday that they are investigating two cases of pediatric hepatitis in Massachusetts.
Due to their age, no details pertaining to the children’s cases have been released. Officials said they both tested negative for adenovirus infection — a common cause for contracting hepatitis in immunocompromised children.
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Health officials said the CDC is trying to identify more potential cases and is asking for health departments to report cases of hepatitis in children under 10 years old with markedly elevated liver function tests but without a known cause for their hepatitis.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can be caused by viral infections, alcohol use, toxins, medications, and certain other medical conditions. In the United States, the most common causes of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C viruses.
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Hepatitis in children is rare.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice.
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