While there have been a number of Virginia children admitted to area hospitals with respiratory illness symptoms, none of the cases have been confirmed as the D-68 strain of Enterovirus that has struck hundreds of children in other states.
That’s because testing for the virus is not a quick process.
While Enterovirus itself has a number of strains, it is the D-68 strain that is sending children of all ages to hospitals across the country with breathing difficulties. Here in VA nearly two dozen children have been admitted with symptoms, but identifying whether they have D-68 is no quick process. Haley Evans is an Epidemiologist with Central Virginia Health District .
“The ev typing that would need to be done to identify the organism as evd68 is not available at the local level, that would be done either at a select state lab or coordinated through a stae lab and CDC.”
The testing process takes several days, so at this point, all medical personnel can do is treat the symptoms. Evans says while the virus is not life-threatening, any sort of breathing difficulty needs to be dealt with immediately.
“Many of the illnesses are mild and can be managed at home. If a child has a mild cold, they don’t necessarily need to see their physician, but any difficulty in breathing is a medical emergency and those children should be seen on an urgent basis.”
Evans emphasizes that the best treatment at this point is prevention.
“There’s no vaccine for preventing EV-D68 infections. The best protection is frequent soap and water handwashing, avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, disinfecting frequently touched sufaces, such as door knobs, handrails and toys. And hand sanitizer is not effective against Enterovirus, that takes us back to the importance of soap and water handwashing.”
While this particular strain of Enterovirus seems to be affecting children and teens, Evans says no one is immune to the virus and adults too are susceptible, especially as we head into the cold and flu season.