Sunday, 07 September, 2014 at 15:10 UTC A respiratory virus is sending hundreds of children to hospitals in Missouri and possibly throughout the Midwest and beyond, officials say. The virus causes symptoms like a cold, except worse, and is prompting up to 30 children a day to seek care at one Kansas City hospital, where about 15% of the youngsters were placed in intensive care, officials said. In a sign of a possible regional outbreak, Colorado, Illinois and Ohio are reporting cases with symptoms similar to the same virus and are awaiting testing results, according to officials and CNN affiliates in those states. In Kansas City, about 450 children were recently treated at Childrens Mercy Hospital, and at least 60 of them received intensive hospitalization, spokesman Jake Jacobson said. Its worse in terms of scope of critically ill children who require intensive care. I would call it unprecedented. Ive practiced for 30 years in pediatrics, and Ive never seen anything quite like this, said Dr. Mary Anne Jackson, the hospitals division director for Infectious Diseases. Weve had to mobilize other providers, doctors, nurses. Its big, she said. The Kansas City hospital treats 90% of that areas ill children and noticed an initial spike on August 15, Jackson said. It could have taken off right after school started. Our students start back around August 17th, and I think it blew up at that point, Jackson said. Our peak appears to be between the 21st and the 30th of August. Weve seen some leveling of cases at this point. An analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed at least 19 of the Kansas City children tested positive for Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Vaccines for EV-D68 arent currently available, and there is no specific treatment for infections, the Missouri agency said. Many infections will be mild and self-limited, requiring only symptomatic treatment, it said. Some people with several respiratory illness caused by EV-D68 may need to be hospitalized and receive intensive supportive therapy. Some cases of the virus might contribute to death, but none of the Missouri cases resulted in death and no data is available for overall morbidity and mortality from the virus in the United States, the agency said. Symptoms include fever, body and muscles aches, sneezing, coughing and rash, one hospital said. Jackson said physicians in other Midwest states reported cases with similar symptoms. The full scope is yet to be known, but it would appear its in the Midwest. In our community, meticulous hand-washing is not happening. Its just the nature of kids, Jackson said. Denver also is seeing a spike in respiratory illnesses resembling the virus, and hospitals have sent specimens for testing to confirm whether its the same virus, CNN affiliate KUSA said. More than 900 children have gone to Childrens Hospital Colorado emergency and urgent care locations since August 18 for treatment of severe respiratory illnesses, including enterovirus and viral infections, hospital spokeswoman Melissa Vizcarra told CNN. Of those, 86 have been sick enough to be admitted to the Aurora facility. And Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children had five children in intensive care and 20 more in the pediatric unit, KUSA said this week. This is the worst Ive seen in my time here at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Dr. Raju Meyeppan told the outlet. Were going to have a pretty busy winter at this institution and throughout the hospitals of Denver. Will Cornejo, 13, was among the children in intensive care at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children after he came down with a cold last weekend and then woke up Tuesday night with an asthma attack that couldnt be subsided with his medicine albuterol. His mother, Jennifer, called 911 when her sons breathing became shallow, and her son was airlifted to the Denver hospital, she told KUSA. Her son was put on a breathing tube for 24 hours. It was like nothing weve ever seen, Jennifer Cornejo told KUSA. He was unresponsive. He was laying on the couch. He couldnt speak to me. He was turning white and his lips turned blue. Were having a hard time believing that it really happened, she added. Were much better now because he is breathing on his own. Were on the mend. In East Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Childrens Hospital saw a 20% increase in patients with respiratory illnesses last weekend, and Dr. Dennis Cunningham said patient samples are being tested to determine whether EV-D68 is behind the spike, CNN affiliate WTTE said. Elsewhere, Hannibal Regional Hospital in Hannibal, Missouri, reported recent outbreaks of enterovirus infections in Missouri and Illinois, the facility said this week on its Facebook page. Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois, saw more than 70 children with respiratory issues last weekend, and seven of them were admitted, CNN affiliate WGEM reported. The hospitals Dr. Robert Merrick believes that the same virus that hit Kansas City is causing the rash of illnesses seen at the Quincy and Hannibal hospitals, which both imposed restrictions this week on children visiting patients, the affiliate said. Mostly were concerned about them bringing it in to a vulnerable patient. We dont feel that the hospital is more dangerous to any other person at this time, Merrick told WGEM. Blessing Hospital is working with Illinois health officials to identify the virus, the hospital said in a statement. While there are more than 100 types of enteroviruses causing up to 15 million U.S. infections annually, EV-D68 infections occur less commonly, the Missouri health agency said. Like other enteroviruses, the respiratory illness appears to spread through close contact with infected people, the agency said. Unlike the majority of enteroviruses that cause a clinical disease manifesting as a mild upper respiratory illness, febrile rash illness, or neurologic illness (such as aseptic meningitis and encephalitis), EV-D68 has been associated almost exclusively with respiratory disease, the agency said. Clusters of the virus have struck Asia, Europe and the United States from 2008 to 2010, and the infection caused relatively mild to severe illness, with some intensive care and mechanical ventilation, the health agency said. To reduce the risk of infection, individuals should wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after changing diapers, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands; avoid kissing, hugging and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick; disinfect frequently-touched surfaces such as toys and doorknobs; and stay home when feeling sick, the Missouri agency said. Childrens hospitals in 10 states report spike in respiratory illnesses Published September 07, 2014* FoxNews Health officials suspect that a rare respiratory virus is the reason that hundreds of children across America have been sickened in recent weeks, according to a published report. The Denver Post reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that human enterovirus 68 is at the root of the epidemic, though testing of samples has not produced a definitive answer. The Post reported that officials at Childrens Hospital Colorado have treated more than 900 children for severe respiratory illnesses since August 18, with 86 admitted to the hospital. At Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, doctors put five children on a ventilator this week, including a 13-year-old boy whose condition deteriorated from a mild cold to a life-threatening illness overnight. He was OK. Then he was unconscious. It was unreal, Jennifer Cornejo told the paper about her son William. I thought my heart would come out of my chest. It was so horrible. The illness appears to be most common among very young children and children who have asthma. The CDC tells ABC News that similar suspected outbreaks have been reported in nine other states -- Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Georgia. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Ohios capital reported seeing an average of 73 patients with respiratory complaints per day between August 31 and September 2, a 40 percent increase. Doctors recommend taking basic sanitary precautions, including washing hands often with soap and water, avoiding sharing items with sick people, and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 12:34:39 +0000
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