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Enterovirus D68 count reaches 628 cases in 44 states
News Scan for Oct 07, 2014
Another 34 patients have tested positive for enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), raising the US total to 628 cases, and Florida has recorded its first confirmed case, according to today's update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cases have now been confirmed in 44 states, the CDC reported. The only states with no confirmed cases are Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Florida's first case involves a 10-year-old girl in Hillsborough County (the Tampa area) who is recovering, according to an Associated Press (AP) report today.
EV-D68, previously uncommon in the United States, typically causes only cold-like symptoms, but in some children it can cause a severe illness that leaves them struggling to breathe.
Almost all the illnesses have been in children, many of whom have asthma or a history of wheezing. The virus is believed to spread via coughs, sneezes, and contact with contaminated surfaces.
The CDC says that four patients who died were infected with the virus, but the role it played in their deaths is unclear and still under investigation. Yesterday, however, health officials in New Jersey said the virus caused the death of a 4-year-old boy who died in his sleep.
EV-D68 is also suspected of being a factor in a mysterious polio-like illness that has struck a number of children in several states, including at least 10 in Colorado. Four of the Colorado children, who had partial paralysis and limb weakness, tested positive for the virus.
Keith Van Haren, MD, who has researched the polio-like cases in California, said he thinks EV-D68 will be identified as a factor in the cases, according to a Bloomberg News story today. "As a member of the clinical community, I think it is just a matter of time before we establish a definitive link between EV-D68 and this polio-like illness that follows," he said.
CDC enterovirus page
CDC list and map of affected states
Oct 7 AP story
Oct 7 Bloomberg story
News Scan for Oct 07, 2014
Another 34 patients have tested positive for enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), raising the US total to 628 cases, and Florida has recorded its first confirmed case, according to today's update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cases have now been confirmed in 44 states, the CDC reported. The only states with no confirmed cases are Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Florida's first case involves a 10-year-old girl in Hillsborough County (the Tampa area) who is recovering, according to an Associated Press (AP) report today.
EV-D68, previously uncommon in the United States, typically causes only cold-like symptoms, but in some children it can cause a severe illness that leaves them struggling to breathe.
Almost all the illnesses have been in children, many of whom have asthma or a history of wheezing. The virus is believed to spread via coughs, sneezes, and contact with contaminated surfaces.
The CDC says that four patients who died were infected with the virus, but the role it played in their deaths is unclear and still under investigation. Yesterday, however, health officials in New Jersey said the virus caused the death of a 4-year-old boy who died in his sleep.
EV-D68 is also suspected of being a factor in a mysterious polio-like illness that has struck a number of children in several states, including at least 10 in Colorado. Four of the Colorado children, who had partial paralysis and limb weakness, tested positive for the virus.
Keith Van Haren, MD, who has researched the polio-like cases in California, said he thinks EV-D68 will be identified as a factor in the cases, according to a Bloomberg News story today. "As a member of the clinical community, I think it is just a matter of time before we establish a definitive link between EV-D68 and this polio-like illness that follows," he said.
CDC enterovirus page
CDC list and map of affected states
Oct 7 AP story
Oct 7 Bloomberg story