Children in Northern Virginia Test Positive for Enterovirus D-68

Enterovirus D-68 (EV-D68) has been confirmed in children from Northern Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

Lab results on Friday, through testing coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control, confirmed the cases in Northern Virginia, Denise C. Sockwell, M.S.P.H., CP-FS, Virginia Department of Health, Northern Region, said Monday.

Enterovirus-D68 resembles the flu or common cold but can be much more dangerous. There are no antiviral medications currently available for people who become infected with EV-D68. As of Monday, 594 people from 43 states have lab-confirmed Enterovirus D68, according to CDC statistics.

The virus has also been confirmed in the Central and Eastern regions of Virginia, Sockwell said. The first cases in Virginia confirmed by CDC lab results were seven children in the Richmond area, in September, according to news reports.

The Virginia Department of Health would not disclose the number of children in Northern Virginia who have tested positive or be more specific about the location of the confirmed cases.

The health department’s Northern Region includes the counties of: Arlington, Caroline, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren; and the cities of: Alexandria, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Winchester and the Towns of Dumfries, Haymarket, Herndon, Leesburg, Luray, Occoquan, Purcellville, Quantico, Sterling, Vienna and Warrenton.

“We do not have information about the exact number of children with EV-D68,” said Sockwell. “Infections with the virus are not reportable by law to the health department.”

“In addition, because testing for the specific virus can only be done at a few laboratories, physicians and hospitals in the community would not know that their patients were infected with EV-D68,” she said. “At most, they may know that the patient has a rhinovirus or enterovirus.”

Fairfax County Public Schools sent a letter in late September from the county health department to parents, with information about the virus and ways to try to prevent it, including getting a flu shot, frequent hand-washing and keeping children home if they are sick. FCPS spokesman John Torre said that “generally we do notify parents if there is a confirmed case of a communicable disease in a school.” Notification is coordinated with the Health Department, he said.

On Friday the CDC confirmed that a 4-year-old boy from Hamilton, N.J. died Sept. 24 from Enterovirus-D68. His parents kept him home from his preschool suspecting he had pink eye. Another child from the same school is now being tested for the virus, according to nj.com.

Children’s Hospital Colorado has reported some patients with the virus suffering from acute neurological illness characterized by muscle weakness and partial paralysis, according to the hospital. Health officials have not yet determined if the virus is responsible for the neurological illness, the hospital says. More information can be found here from the CDC.

The CDC reports on its Web site that EV-D68 has been detected in specimens from four patients who died and had samples submitted for testing. The role that EV-D68 infection played in these deaths is unclear at this time; state and local health departments are continuing to investigate.

The Virginia Department of Health and local health departments are continuing to work with hospitals and health care providers to monitor for severe respiratory illnesses, particularly in young children, that may be caused by EV-D68.

Also read: What to Know About Enterovirus D68

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