Children's respiratory virus spreading to NE

(MyFoxBoston.com) -- Officials aren't sure why we're seeing such a rapid spread of Enterovirus D68 right now, or why it's so widespread.

"Our emergency department has seen anywhere from between 35% to 60% increase in the number of children being seen in our emergency department for respiratory illnesses compared to last year at this time," said Dr. Michael Klatte, a member of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Division at Baystate Children's Hospital in Springfield.

Just today, Massachusetts General Hospital announced that they had a "suspected" case, but that person has since been discharged.

Another 10 patients are being watched at MGH out of what the hospital is calling
"an abundance of caution." At this point, they aren't being called "suspected."

"We normally see asthmatics this time of the year, but we are seeing more than usual so our suspicion is we're seeing Enterovirus," added Dr. Klatte.

Over at Baystate Children's Hospital in Springfield, they're treating seven children for respiratory illnesses.

They're still waiting for test results to confirm whether what they're seeing is the same strain of Enterovirus that's been diagnosed in 16 states including, as of Wednesday, in Connecticut, where a case was confirmed at the Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital.

In all, there have been 140 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. just since mid-August, according to the CDC, and the cases have been primarily in children.

The most common symptoms are fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough, skin rash, mouth blisters, and muscle and body aches. Those symptoms become much more dangerous for children who have respiratory problems like asthma.

"I don't necessarily think it is more dangerous in a large majority of the cases than an average cold. But again, particularly in patients who have underlying respiratory issues, we know that they're at risk for higher complications," said Dr. Klatte.

Enterovirus D68 is a virus, so there aren't any medications that can treat it, and there aren't any immunizations that can prevent it.

For children who don't have asthma, treatment can be as simple as liquids and rest. Asthma patients should contact their doctor, because treatment can be much more involved, entailing things like supplemental oxygen.

The best way to avoid all that is good old fashioned hand-washing.

Cox Media Group