Md. prepares for virus sickening hundreds of kids
Enterovirus D68 is a respiratory infection sickening kids across U.S.
A respiratory virus is making hundreds of children sick across the country, and while it hasn't been reported yet in Maryland, doctors in the state are preparing for it.
Enterovirus D68 comes from the same family as the polio virus. It has quickly infected hundreds of children across the country, with 12 states reporting cases so far.
Many parents are concerned, and while doctors familiar with it said there's no need to panic, they are still unsure why the virus is popping up so rapidly. They also said it's uncommon.
"Usually viruses cause gastrointestinal illness and also viral meningitis. That's what we usually see with enteroviruses, but this causes a respiratory tract infection," said Dr. Melissa Sparrow, who works in pediatric emergency services at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. "It can get into the lungs and cause symptoms that are like asthma. It can cause wheezing and bronchial spasms."
That means children with asthma are more likely to get it, and it will be more severe.
"I think we're noticing it spreading because people are getting sicker. If this were just a regular adenovirus cold, it would be spreading all over just like every other cold spreads all over, but we wouldn't be sitting here talking about it because kids weren't landing in the hospital," Sparrow said. "So, it is probably spreading the way viruses spread all the time. It's just we're talking about it because it's taking kids to another level of illness we're not used to."
The virus usually looks like a cold, health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention test for it, but it can take days for a hospital to confirm a child has Enterovirus D68.
In case GBMC has to deal with it, hospital staff said they have a plan in place that's similar to how they handled the outbreak of the H1N1 virus.
"When we start to see too high a volume of kids, what we did last time was set up a big tent outside. What we do is we quickly triage the mildly ill from the truly sick. We set up a system so we can very rapidly send the mildly ill home," Sparrow said.
If it makes its way to the state, GBMC said it has extra staff to put in place and breathing treatments to help kids who may need it.
Since there is no vaccine, there's not a lot people can do to prevent the virus, experts said. Doctors are reminding parents to make sure their children are washing their hands often and for at least 20 seconds every time.