High rates of hepatic involvement associated with new epidemic measles strains in Romania

Similar to other European countries, a measles epidemic dominated by D8 genotype strains is ongoing since 2022 in our country. Recent reports of liver involvement associated with new measles virus (MeV) strains are scarce. The aim of the study was to compare the clinical characteristics between hospitalized patients with measles from the current epidemic and those from the previous outbreak and to analyze the risk factors associated with hepatic involvement. Data were collected retrospectively for all consecutive adult ( ≥18 years old) patients admitted between October 2022–April 2024 and January 2018–December 2019. A number of 228 patients from the current and 130 from the previous MeV epidemic were included. The main statistically significant differences were those regarding hepatic involvement (77.2% vs. 45.4%, p < 0.001) and significant hepatocellular injury (23.6% vs. 10.7%, p = 0.003). Compared to cases without liver involvement (123), patients with hepatocytolysis (235) had a higher prevalence of keratoconjunctivitis (42.5% vs. 28.4%, p = 0.01), thrombocytopenia (47.6% vs. 34.9%, p = 0.02), severe lymphopenia (51% vs. 35.7%, p = 0.007) and high fibrinogen levels (58.7% vs. 47.1%, p = 0.04). MeV strains from the 2022–2024 epidemic were the strongest predictors of hepatic involvement in the multivariable analysis (odds ratio = 4.3, 95% confidence interval: 2.5–7.4, p < 0.001). The mortality rate of patients with hepatocellular injury was 1.2%. The current measles epidemic is dominated by high rates of hepatic involvement compared to the previous outbreak. Although not associated with a significant mortality, the potential change in MeV hepatotropism could have important clinical implications and warrants further monitoring.