GRAND FORKS – The North Dakota Department of Health is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in investigating a child with hepatitis of an unknown cause. The child resides in Grand Forks County and is recovering at home after a brief hospitalization, the Health Department said in a news release. North Dakota is among a growing list of states investigating children with hepatitis where usual causes have been ruled out.

“We are encouraging medical providers to review their records back to October 2021 for any patients that warrant further investigation,” Kirby Kruger, medical services section chief for the Health Department, said in a news release. “NDDoH is working with the CDC to help identify cases that will aid in understanding the cause of hepatitis in children and to understand how we can prevent these illnesses from happening in the future.”

NDDoH encourages parents to watch for symptoms of hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, which include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools and jaundice.

A link between cases of hepatitis and adenovirus has been suggested. Because of this, CDC is asking physicians to consider adenovirus testing. Adenovirus infections are common and occur among persons of all ages. Symptoms may include cold-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, pneumonia, diarrhea or pink eye.

The Minnesota Department of Health is also

investigating several cases of unexplained hepatitis in children

. On April 29, health department spokesman Doug Schultz confirmed that hospitals in Minnesota have reported several cases of hepatitis of unknown origin in pediatric patients, all in children younger than 12.

NDDoH encourages everyday precautions to keep children safe, including washing hands often, staying home when ill, avoiding people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth and staying up-to-date on routinely recommended vaccines.