(WSIL) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced Wednesday it has received reports of a total of nine patients under investigation for severe hepatitis in children under ten years of age, up fromÂ
The cases date back to January, and the most recent had the onset of symptoms in May.
Two-thirds of the children tested positive for, a common virus that typically causes cold- or flu-like illness. Five patients were reported in northern Illinois, two were in the western part of the state and one each was reported in the central and southern parts of the state.
All of the children were hospitalized, and one needed a liver transplant. No deaths were reported.
The IDPH update follows a recent briefing by the CDC about  over the past seven months across the United States.
The CDC said that symptoms of hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice and can be caused by viruses.
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