Enterovirus D68 Found in 4 Patients Who Have Died
Photo Credit: APBy Jacque Wilson.
Samples collected from four patients who recently died have tested positive for enterovirus D68, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is unclear what role the virus played in their deaths.
Enteroviruses are very common, especially in the late summer and early fall. The CDC estimates 10 to 15 million infections occur in the United States each year. So even though the samples from these four patients tested positive, the virus could have nothing to do with their deaths.
One of the patients, a child with a staph infection and enterovirus D68, was from Rhode Island, the state’s health department announced Wednesday.
The child died last week. Infection by both staph bacteria and an enterovirus is a “rare combination,” health officials say, that can cause very severe illnesses in children and adults.
“Only a very small portion of people who contract EV-D68 will experience problems beyond a runny nose and a low grade fever,” the Rhode Island Department of Health said in a statement. “Most viruses produce mild illnesses from which people are able to recover.”
Read more from this story HERE.
___________________________________________________________
Child With Enterovirus 68 Dies in Rhode Island
By Sydney Lupkin.
A child infected with enterovirus 68 has died, the Rhode Island Department of Health said today, marking the first publicly announced enterovirus 68 death since the outbreak began this summer.
After the Rhode Island announcement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that three patients who died later tested positive for the virus that’s infecting children across the country. It is not clear what role the virus played in these deaths, but the CDC said state and local health officials are investigating.
The 10-year-old girl from Cumberland, Rhode Island, died last week of a rare combination of bacterial and viral infections, the department said, explaining that she died of Staphylococcus aureus sepsis “associated with” enterovirus 68.
“We are all heartbroken to hear about the death of one of Rhode Island’s children,” state Health Department Director Dr. Michael Fine said in a statement. “Many of us will have EV-D68 [enterovirus 68]. Most of us will have very mild symptoms and all but very few will recover quickly and completely.”
More ABC news videos | ABC Entertainment News
Read more from this story HERE.
___________________________________________________________
First Maine child tests positive for enterovirus
By AP.
The first Maine child has tested positive for a severe respiratory virus that has been making children sick across the country, health officials said on Wednesday.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that a child from York County is the first confirmed case of enterovirus D8 in the state. The child, who was hospitalized, is now back home and doing well, officials said.
The highly contagious illness has been confirmed in more than 470 people in dozens of states, according to the CDC. So far, no deaths have been attributed to the virus.
Read more from this story HERE.