New Virus Sweeps America EV-D68

The Douglas County Health Department says they've confirmed the area's first case of the enterovirus D68. It’s been making children sick across much of the country and now appears to be here.

The child involved is less than 1-year-old and was hospitalized with coughing and difficulty breathing. The youngster has since been released.

“This confirms our suspicion that enterovirus D68 is circulating in our community,” said Douglas County Health Director, Dr. Adi Pour. “Enteroviruses are extremely common, and there are more than 100 types.

“It is estimated that 10 to 15 million enterovirus infections happen every year in the United States,” Dr. Pour said. “Just like any illness that goes person to person, there are ways to be protected from EV-D68.”

Symptoms typically include cough, sneezing, a low-grade fever, runny nose and possible body ache. EV-D68 appears to more seriously affect children with asthma or pre-existing respiratory conditions.

Tennessee is the latest US state to have a confirmed case of Enterovirus D68, according to an update by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today. Two cases were confirmed by the CDC, the children were from West Tennessee and the other in East Tennessee.

Both were hospitalized for their illnesses, but are now home and doing well.

“As expected, Tennessee has been impacted by enterovirus D68 as have most other states this fall,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “We have now confirmed two cases, while other samples have tested positive for different, common, seasonal cold viruses. It is also likely other samples will test positive for EV-D68 in the future.

The 45 states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Hospitals in Missouri and Illinois were the first to document this increase that was later identified to be caused predominantly by EV-D68 infection.

The 45 states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Hospitals in Missouri and Illinois were the first to document this increase that was later identified to be caused predominantly by EV-D68 infection.

Four new cases of the enterovirus-D68, a respiratory illness, have been diagnosed in Santa Clara County, bringing the number of cases to five since Oct. 9, a county health spokeswoman said Thursday.

All five of the cases involved children under 18 years old, the group that is most at risk to becoming ill from the virus, with wheezing and difficulty breathing in severe cases, Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System spokeswoman Joy Alexiou said.

The four children who recently caught the virus were admitted to area hospitals but have since been released in good condition, Alexiou said.

The first case of the virus in the county was confirmed on Oct. 9, also affecting a juvenile who left the hospital after the virus ran its course, she said.

The enterovirus-D68, also known at EV-D68, is being reported all over the United States, other parts of the Bay Area and now "is circulating in our community," Alexiou said.

comment: One thing is for certain, this is a nasty bug which seems to keep coming back, can produce serious breathing problems and may continue to mutate. It is now in adults and we need to continue to monitor this closely.

Medclinician