Missouri Dept. of Health Issues Health Alert August 29 - Respiratory Illnesses Due to Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68)

[Commonground]

http://health.mo.gov/emergencies/ert/alertsadvisories/pdf/HA82914.pdf

[sharon sanders]

Re: Missiouri Dept. of Health Issues Health Alert August 29

Hi Commonground!

I can't get that site to pull up at all. Maybe it will be back online shortly...

[Pathfinder]

Re: Missiouri Dept. of Health Issues Health Alert August 29

Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services
Health Alert
August 29, 2014
FROM: GAIL VASTERLING
DIRECTOR

SUBJECT: Respiratory Illnesses Due to Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) in
Missouri

Current Situation

Recently, a pediatric hospital in Kansas City, Missouri has experienced over 300 cases of respiratory illnesses in their facility. Approximately 15% of those illnesses have resulted in children being placed in an intensive care unit. Testing of specimens from several cases at a specialized laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that 19 of the 22 specimens were positive for Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68). The St. Louis area is also experiencing a recent increase in pediatric respiratory illnesses. Many specimens from those cases have tested positive for enterovirus, and further testing for specific virus type is pending. To date, no deaths have been reported due to EV-68 in Missouri.

Background

Enteroviruses are very common viruses. There are more than 100 types of enteroviruses. It is estimated that 10 to 15 million enterovirus infections occur in the United States each year. Most people infected with enteroviruses have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, but some infections can be serious. Most enterovirus infections in the U.S. occur seasonally during the summer and fall, and outbreaks of tend to occur in several-year cycles. EV-D68 infections occur less commonly than those with other enteroviruses. EV-D68, like other enteroviruses, appears to spread through close contact with infected people. This virus was first isolated in California in 1962 from four children with bronchiolitis and pneumonia, and has been reported rarely since that time. Unlike the majority of enteroviruses that cause a clinical disease manifesting as a mild upper respiratory illness,...

More...

http://health.mo.gov/emergencies/ert/alertsadvisories/pdf/HA82914.pdf

http://health.mo.gov/emergencies/ert/alertsadvisories/