LEBANON, Ohio — Since August, 142 cases of pediatric pneumonia have been reported, according to the Warren County Health District.

The amount of cases is above the county average and meets the Ohio Department of Health's definition of an outbreak.

"We do not think this is a novel/new respiratory disease but rather a large uptick in the number of pneumonia cases normally seen at one time," a statement from the department said.

A link between these pneumonias, such as a common thread or a definitive etiology, has not been found.

"We have an ongoing investigation to examine possible linkages and risk factors," according to a news release.

The average age of cases is around 8 years old and span multiple school districts. No conclusive patterns among the children have been diagnosed.

The most comment symptoms reported, based on data from a parent questionnaire, included cough, fever and fatigue. Pathogens recovered included Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Streptococcus pnuemoniae and Adenovirus.

The Ohio Department of Health is working alongside WCHD, local childrens hospitals and primary care providers to determine a cause and further prevent the spread of illness. A recommendation is for providers to lower the threshold to test children presenting with cough and/or fatigue, and consider nasopharyngeal swabs for respiratory viruses, mycoplasma and pertussis.

WCHD contacted Warren County providers to share education and to try to clarify the nature of the outbreak.

If you have any questions or need to report a pneumonia case, please contact the Warren County Health District at 513-695-2097.