An advenovirus infection case is seen in this cropped wikipedia image from user Yale Rosen From USA.

Fresno County Interim Health Officer Rais Vohra on Friday devoted part of his regular media briefing to discuss a new virus believed to be causing liver failure in small children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a nationwide health alert regarding a cluster of hepatitis cases in Alabama of children under 10 years old.

The cases involving nine children ages 1-6 appeared from October 2021 to February 2022 in kids who were otherwise healthy. The cases required hospitalization and two of the nine children received liver transplants.

Currently, there are no confirmed cases in California. 

“This type of virus causing this complication has not been described before,” Dr. Vohra said Friday.

The hospitalizations have been initially linked to the adenovirus 41, which, according to the CDC, commonly causes cold or flu-like symptoms such as fever, sore throat and fever, with more serious side effects of bladder inflammation or infection and neurologic disease, which may affect the brain and spinal cord.

“At this time, adenovirus may be the cause for these, but investigators are still learning more, including ruling out other possible causes and identifying other possible contributing factors,” the CDC said in a statement published by The Washington Post.

The same article reports that the United Kingdom has reported 108 cases, 79 of which were reported in England.

Spain and Ireland have also reported a handful of cases, according to the World Health Organization.

Transmission of adenovirus is usually attributed to close contact with an infected person, such as shaking hands or touching, and can also be airborne, spread through the air by coughing or sneezing, according to the CDC.

Adenovirus can also be spread through bodily waste, a prime concern for parents with younger children.

As with Covid-19, recommendations to prevent adenovirus infection include thoroughly washing hands, avoiding the touching of eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and avoiding close contact with people who may be infected.

The cause of this alarming complication is still unknown, however all of the cases in Alabama tested positive for adenovirus. 

Currently, health officials have not noted a connection between reported cases of adenovirus and Covid-19 infection.

Vohra wanted to brief local reporters that his department is aware of the cases.

“I don’t know about any California cases yet, but that will definitely change if this ends up being a viral cause,” Vohra said.

“You may be reading some headlines about this, and I just want to reassure people that we know about it,” he added.