As you may know, there have been sporadic cases of Enterovirus D, 68 reported in states across the US, and it appears to have now reached New England. The Enteroviruses are a common class of viral infections which cause a variety of illness such as hand, foot and mouth. This particular strain is different in that it causes cold like symptoms, but can also cause wheezing and respiratory distress. Most children who get the illness will have symptoms closer to those of a cold. The severe respiratory distress is still quite rare. Children at higher risk of lung problems with this infection are those children with asthma, lung diseases, and former premature infants. There are no antibiotics or anti-viral medicines that work for this illness, but supportive care and asthma medicines can help a great deal. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION: * WASH HANDS: Hand washing is more effective than hand sanitizer against these viruses. We recommend a 20 second hand wash with soap and water. You can use hand sanitizer additionally- it still works quite well against other germs. * Teach children to sneeze and cough into the elbow or shoulder but not the hand * Avoid contact with other children who have upper respiratory infections * Clean toys and shared objects * Avoid sharing cups and utensils. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT SERIOUS ILLNESS: * If your child usually uses an inhaled steroid medicine like Qvar or Flovent in the fall and winter, we recommend starting that now at his or her usual preventative dose. * If you are not sure about whether or what/how much to start, please call the office between 8:30am-5:30pm and leave a message for one of our nurses. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: If you see any of the symptoms below, please call us immediately (whether in Enterovirus season or not) * non-stop coughing * wheeze you can hear without a stethoscope * working hard to breathe: * you can see the childs nostrils flaring in and out * you can see the skin between the ribs or the belly sucking in and out as your child breathes * your child is working hard enough to breathe that they refuse to drink/eat or cannot speak in a full sentence *blueness around the lips and mouth Here are some links to additional resources from the CDC & AAP. healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/infections/Pages/Reports-of-a-Severe-Respiratory-Illness-on-the-Rise.aspx cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/EV-D68.html cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/EV68-infographic.html#text
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:50:30 +0000
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