Health officials in Pennsylvania are watching for local cases of a severe viral infection that has sickened hundreds of children in 11 states, with many needing hospitalization and even intensive care for life-threatening breathing problems.
No cases have been confirmed in the area, although doctors at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC said they are seeing a high volume of children with respiratory illness. No samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which currently is the only institution with the means to test for the virus, hospital officials said.
'As with any respiratory illness, parents of children with new onset of respiratory symptoms should watch for signs or symptoms of more important disease,' said Dr. Michael Green of the hospital's division of infectious diseases. 'These symptoms might include difficulty breathing, a fast respiratory rate, coughing to the point of throwing up or other signs of respiratory distress.'
In such cases, he said, parents or other caregivers should call the child's pediatrician and take him or her to the emergency room for an evaluation. Doctors at the children's hospital have seen a 20 percent increase in patient visits in the emergency department during the past week, he said, with a large proportion of that increase due to patients with respiratory illnesses.
Officials at the Pennsylvania Department of Health said they are monitoring the situation closely, but have no confirmed cases of the virus. The nearest suspected outbreak is at Nationwide Children's Hospital in East Columbus.
The virus, called Enterovirus D68, is an uncommon strain of a common family of viruses that cause cold-like symptoms from summer into autumn. It shows itself with symptoms of fever of more than 101 degrees, runny nose, coughing, sneezing and sometimes rash, according to Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Karen Hacker.
Most cases resolve themselves in about a week, but in some children those flu-like symptoms suddenly develop into life-threatening respiratory illness in which children struggle to breathe.
'This particular strain is problematic with lung issues, and obviously if you have pre-existing conditions like asthma it's even worse,' Dr. Hacker said. 'It does seem to attack the lungs.'
The virus can spread through sneezing, coughing and virus particles on surfaces and experts said the usual good hygiene practices - thorough and frequent hand-washing, not sharing utensils and drinking glasses, and sanitizing frequently touched surfaces - are important to curb transmission. The virus also can be spread through contact with stool, so caregivers should wash their hands thoroughly after changing diapers, Dr. Hacker said.
There is no vaccine and no medical treatment to combat the virus.
Mark Pallansch, director of the viral diseases division at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said this summer's cases are unusually severe and include serious breathing problems. While children with asthma and other health problems are especially at risk for the enterovirus, reported cases include children without asthma who have developed asthma-like breathing problems, Mr. Pallansch said. He said no deaths have been reported in the outbreak.
He told CNN on Sunday that the recent hospitalizations may be 'just the tip of the iceberg in terms of severe cases.'
Cases have been confirmed in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, where virus was found in 11 of 14 specimens from Chicago and in 19 of 22 specimens from Missouri. A CDC spokesman said the agency also is testing to see if the virus caused respiratory illnesses reported in children in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah.
Nearly 500 children have been treated at one hospital alone - Children's Mercy in Kansas City, Missouri - since the virus emerged there in mid-August and some required intensive care, according to authorities. A director of that hospital's division of infectious diseases has called the scope of critically ill children there who need intensive care 'unprecedented.'
In the Denver area, more than 900 children were treated for severe respiratory illnesses at Children's Hospital Colorado and its urgent care locations and 86 were hospitalized in recent weeks. The hospital said samples were sent to the CDC to confirm any link to the virus.
The University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital has treated several cases, including extremely sick children requiring life-support machines, said Dr. Rachel Wolfson, an intensive care unit physician.
Affected children are 'as small as infants all the way up to teenagers,' Wolfson said.
Amy Schaarsmith: aschaarsmith@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1719. bberitaa.blogspot.com contributed.
Posted by Unknown on Monday, September 8, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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