The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) today said it has been notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of 12 new laboratory-confirmed cases of enterovirus D68 infection (EV-D68).
The new cases are all pediatric patients from three Connecticut hospitals. All patients have recovered and been discharged. Earlier this month, DPH announced the first confirmed case of EV-D68 in a Connecticut child.
DPH advises parents and health care providers to be aware of the symptoms of this respiratory illness. Mild symptoms may include fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough, and body and muscle aches. Patients who are very ill with EV-D68 have difficulty breathing, and may or may not have fever or wheezing. Many of the children with severe illness caused by this virus have had asthma or wheezing in the past.
From mid-August to September 29, 2014, CDC or state public health laboratories have confirmed a total of 443 people from 40 states and the District of Columbia with respiratory illness caused by EV-D68.
CDC is prioritizing testing of specimens from children with severe respiratory illness. Of the specimens tested by CDC lab, about half have tested positive for EV-D68. About one third have tested positive for an enterovirus or rhinovirus other than EV-D68.
