Enterovirus D68 is spreading across the country

The outbreak of respiratory illness caused by Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has spread from 10 states in the Midwest to 38 states across the country (NYTimes). Although there are only 226 confirmed cases, there are likely to be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of unconfirmed cases. A general hospital can test for enterovirus, but the official diagnosis of EV-D68 requires sequencing of the virus DNA which only the CDC and other specialized health labs can do.

In a previous post, I mentioned that many "summer colds" are caused by enterovirus. This particular EV-D68 infection is more serious than the typical summer cold. Most kids (note adults are not prone to this illness probably because of immunity) will present normal cold symptoms and will be fine after a few days. There will be those however (e.g. kids with asthma and wheezing) who exhibit more severe symptoms such as a bad cough or difficulty breathing which would require hospitalization.

The good news is that no one has died; the bad news is that many children have been hospitalized. The Times article mentions that

"From Aug. 18 to Sept. 24, roughly 3,600 children were treated at emergency and urgent-care facilities at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Most were sent home, but roughly 10 percent were hospitalized because they needed continuous breathing treatment, supplemental oxygen, or even to be placed on a ventilator in the intensive-care unit."

Meanwhile in Illinois, "University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital has had to divert ambulances to other hospitals because its emergency room was filled with children, most of them younger than 5."

These are scary numbers, but remember proper medical care results in full recovery.

How can you protect your kids from EV-D68? Take the same precautions that you use to avoid any cold:

"Protect yourself with good hand-washing habits. Tell kids to cover their mouth with a tissue when they cough. If no tissue is handy, teach them to cough into the crook of their elbow or upper sleeve instead of their hand. Common disinfectants and detergents will kill enteroviruses, Morse says, so clean frequently touched surfaces like doorknobs and toys according to manufacturers’ directions."

More importantly, if your child does fall sick, remember in most cases it will be resolved like a normal cold. However, if she exhibits rapid breathing or labored breathing, then you should seek immediate medical attention (WebMD):

“If there’s any rapid breathing, and that means breathing more than once per second consistently over the span of an hour. Or if there’s any labored breathing, [...]

If you see the skin pulling in between the ribs or above the collarbone (caused by labored breathing), or if there’s any wheezing, those are clear signs that a child needs to be evaluated.”

Figure 1. Fret not, like many colds this one is likely to go away in a few days. However, if your child should have rapid or labored breathing or wheezing, see a doctor immediately.