Enterovirus D68
Dis-ease Prevention, Maintenance, and Cure
|
|
A fast-spreading virus related to hand-foot-and-mouth disease is
hospitalizing kids across the Midwest and parts of the South and
Northeast.
The virus, enterovirus D68, or EV-D68, was first discovered in 1962
in California. But until now, it has only been tied to smaller clusters
of disease around the U.S.
Most viral infections start out with a fever, cough, and runny nose,
but D68 doesn’t seem to follow that classic pattern, says Mary Anne
Jackson, MD. She's the division director of infectious disease at
Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO, the hospital where
the first cases were identified.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-
flu/news/20140909/enterovirus-d68-parents?page=2; Retrieved
September 27, 2014
|
|
Protect yourself with good hand-washing habits. Tell
kids to cover their mouth with a tissue when they
cough. If no tissue is handy, teach them to cough into
the crook of their elbow or upper sleeve instead of
their hand.
Common disinfectants and detergents will kill
enteroviruses, Morse says, so clean frequently
touched surfaces like doorknobs and toys according
to manufacturers’ directions.
|
How do you catch it?
The bad news is that enteroviruses, which are thought to cause
between 10 million and 15 million infections in the U.S. each year,
are pretty hardy, says Stephen Morse, PhD. He's an infectious
disease expert at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, in
New York City.
The “entero-“ part of their name means the viruses can survive
stomach acid and infect the gut, as opposed to their cousins, the
rhinoviruses, which can’t.
He says these germs can live on surfaces for hours and maybe as
long as a day, depending on the temperature and humidity.
“It is a pretty tough virus,” he says.
The virus can be found in saliva, nasal mucus, or sputum, according
to the CDC.
Touching a contaminated surface and then rubbing your nose or
eyes is the usual way someone catches it. You can also get it from
close person-to-person contact.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-
flu/news/20140909/enterovirus-d68-parents?page=2; Retrieved
September 27, 2014
|
Once a communicable/infectious dis-sease is contracted, it is
important to isololate/quarantine the patient and take additional
preventive precautions when attending to the needs of the patient.
|
|
How is the infection treated?
Because it’s caused by a virus, and not bacteria, antibiotics don’t
help.
There is no vaccine to prevent it and no antiviral medication to treat
it, says Andi Shane, MD. She's the medical director of hospital
epidemiology and associate director of pediatric infectious disease
at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
She says the virus is treated with supportive care.
“The main thing is giving supplemental oxygen to the children who
need it,” she says. Children may also get medications, such as
albuterol, which help relax and open the air passages of the lungs.
Those with the most critical cases have needed ventilators to help
them breathe
Source: http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-
flu/news/20140909/enterovirus-d68-parents?page=2; Retrieved
September 27, 2014
|
|
