The severe respiratory virus believed to have sickened hundreds of US children in the Midwest and Western states has now spread to the Northeast, health officials say.
The New York State Department of Health on Friday confirmed more than a dozen cases of infection with the D68 enterovirus, which sometimes requires hospitalization, especially for children with asthma.
And on Saturday, the Connecticut Department of Public Health said it received reports from two hospitals in different parts of the state of clusters of severe respiratory illnesses among young children that may be due to enterovirus D68. The department said it is awaiting test results from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm whether the infections are enteroviruses.
Enterovirus D68 cases first appeared in the Midwest in August. While hundreds of suspected cases have been reported, the CDC has only confirmed more than 90 cases in seven states: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and now New York. New York is the first state in the Northeast with confirmed cases.
Enteroviruses are common in September as children go back to school, with an estimated 10 to 15 million people infected each year. But doctors believe this particular type of enterovirus is causing more severe cases than in the past and can be troublesome for children with asthma.
The virus is also difficult to detect because it causes symptoms similar to many other infections, including the common cold, experts said.
“It is important that we follow common sense rules to prevent the spread of this virus, just as we do for the flu and other communicable diseases,” New York State Deputy Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement. “Because there is no specific treatment or vaccination against this virus, our best defense is to prevent it by practicing good hygiene.”
Illness associated with enterovirus D68 infection usually lasts about a week with cold-like symptoms. The virus belongs to the family of viruses that includes the common cold.
Children infected with this virus appear to have a severe cold, with runny nose, sneezing and coughing. But the disease can escalate quickly in some cases and the child may begin to have difficulty breathing. It is usually spread through close contact with an infected person or by touching objects or surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes, according to New York health officials.
Antibiotics will not work against a virus, and there is no antiviral treatment available for Enterovirus D68, public health officials said.
The CDC is asking doctors and public health officials to consider Enterovirus D68 as a possible suspect if widespread respiratory illnesses begin to appear in their communities.
“Children with an underlying history of asthma are at particular risk for significant illness that may require hospitalization,” Dr. Roya Samuels, a pediatrician at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, told HealthDay.
Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, agreed that good hygiene is the best defense against a child contracting enterovirus D68.
“Handwashing is paramount, and teaching kids not to touch their face with unwashed hands is what it's all about,” Horovitz said. “Any child or adult with flu-like symptoms or symptoms of the common cold should be monitored, evaluated and monitored by doctors for possible respiratory complications.”
Children and adults should wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds on a regular basis. They should also avoid contact with people who are sick and stay home if they themselves become ill. Children with asthma should monitor their symptoms and take their medications, public health officials said.
The virus tends to “produce severe shortness of breath in children who may not have asthma. So children with asthma should be closely monitored by doctors if they get the virus,” Horowitz said.
Enteroviruses are very common, according to the CDC. There are more than 100 types of enteroviruses. People who come down with a nasty summer cold often have been brought down by an enterovirus, the federal agency said.
Enterovirus D68 was first identified in the 1960s, Samuels said, but fewer than 100 cases have been reported so far.
“Enterovirus usually presents as a mild cold or diarrheal illness,” Samuels said. “It is not clear why the children were infected 1708137467 present with severe upper respiratory infection symptoms.”
