Virus Striking Children Across the Country, More Than 1,000 in the Hospital

[BettorsChat]

Mysterious, rare and scary virus starts off like a cold but can turn deadly, children under 5 at risk.
02:46 | 09/08/2014


Transcript for Virus Striking Children Across the Country, More Than 1,000 in the Hospital

And we do begin with that fast-moving headline. The new and growing concern over a mysterious virus. Rare, powerful and striking children across this nation.

More than 1,000 in the hospital already. Some hooked up to oxygen masks. Tonight, the CDC says this is worsening and that the virus is moving fast.

And just look at the map. 11 states and counting and now the CDC warning this could be just the beginning. Your questions are pouring in, so, what are the symptoms and how can you keep your children safe?

Dr. Richard Besser standing by, but first tonight, ABC's linsey Davis on the outbreak. Reporter: With emergency rooms timing up, the CDC tonight saying this dangerous situation is evolving quickly.

13-year-old will was so scared, he says he thought he was going to do. Hi heart started hurting after my lungs sort of closing up. Reporter: Will is finally back at home after spending four nights in intensive care at a Denver hospital.

In that city alone, at least 900 children believed infected by the potentially fatal enterovirus 68. We were hysterical because we thought they were going to come in and tell us that he was dead. It felt so tight, like you were sort of gasping for air.

Reporter: This mysterious respiratory illness, so intense, Kansas City, Missouri, at one point sending at least 30 children a day to the hospital. About 15% of them are winding up in intensive care. Have you ever seen anything like this?

I don't think so. What's different about this is the unusual number of cases and the unusual severity of infection over a very short period of time. Reporter: This bug is highly contagious.

Sneeze or call can spread it. And it can live on surfaces. That's what has parents worried with kidding heading back to school.

It starts out like a common cold. Sunny nose, coughing, sneezing and Pfeifer but can turn much more dire with children losing consciousness and having difficulty breathing. As for will, he's just relieved to be breathing easier tonight.

Linsey Davis, ABC news. Linsey, thank you. I want to bring in Dr.

Richard Besser. We heard it from linsey there, but what are the warning signs? Reporter: Look for signs of any difficulty breathing.

Wheezing, difficulty breathing and difficulty speaking. That can be a sign that your child's in trouble, in particular children who have asthma. Millions of children are back to school.

So, what are parents to do? Reporter: Well, you can't eliminate the risk, but good hand washing will help. Covering coughs and sneezes.

And keeping your child home if they are sick. That will help the spread to others. But I think we're going to be talking about this in more than 11 states. SEE LESS
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.


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[BettorsChat]

Hundreds of children have been hospitalized around the U.S. with severe respiratory illness in recent weeks, health officials report. USA TODAY medical reporter Liz Szabo asked leading health experts to answer questions about the illness.

Q: What's causing this illness?

A: It's a virus, called EV-D68, which causes coughing and wheezing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It belongs to a family of viruses called enteroviruses that generally peak at this time of year, says Roya Samuels, a pediatrician at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. Many people with an enterovirus never even realize they're infected, because they have no symptoms. Others have mild symptoms similar to those of a cold.

Q: How serious is it?

A:This virus, which is relatively rare, is far more serious than most. In Denver, Children's Hospital Colorado treated more than 900 children, both in the emergency room and urgent care centers throughout the metro area, with 86 admitted to the hospital, health system spokeswoman Natalie Goldstein says.

About 12% of the more than 500 children seen at Children's Mercy Hospital & Clinics in Kansas City, Mo., have needed intensive care, says Mary Anne Jackson, director of the hospital's division of infectious diseases. The size of the outbreak is also unusual, Jackson says. Most earlier outbreaks were small clusters, she says.

"We've never had an outbreak as comprehensive and as widespread due to this virus," says William Schaffner, a professor and infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. No deaths have been reported, however, and Schaffner says children should make full recoveries. "The good news is that they get better, and they get better promptly," he says, adding that most children will be back to school in a week.

Q: Who is at greatest risk?

A: Enteroviruses usually affect school-age children. In Kansas City, about two-thirds of children who have gone to the emergency room for care also have asthma, Jackson says. Doctors haven't seen any adult cases, says Anne Schuchat, with the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

But Schuchat says parents shouldn't panic. "Most of the running noses out there aren't going to be turning into this," she says.

Q: Where is the outbreak centered?

A: Hospital officials first reported a spike in cases in Kansas City and Chicago last month. Doctors are now reporting cases in a total of about a dozen states, according to the CDC.

The CDC is working closely with other states to learn how many states are affected, Schuchat says. "The situation is evolving rapidly," she say. "We don't know as much as we'd like about this virus."

Q: What are enteroviruses?

A: There are more than 100 kinds of enteroviruses. They include hepatitis A, which can cause food-borne illness outbreaks, as well as polio, says Gail Shust, an assistant professor of pediatrics and infectious disease at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Enteroviruses cause more than 10 million illnesses in Americans each year, according to the CDC.

Q: How does it spread?

A: The virus infects the gastrointestinal tract. It often spreads when children get fecal matter on their hands and then touch their mouths, says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Kids can spread the virus by coughing, Shust says. The virus can live on surfaces such as doorknobs.

Q: Is there a vaccine or other way to prevent the virus?

A: No, there's no vaccine, Samuels says. However, people can reduce their risk of this virus — and most infectious diseases — by washing their hands frequently with warm water and soap, and wiping surfaces to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, Shust says. But if someone in your household is infected, it's hard to avoid. Schuchat recommends that people get flu shots to protect themselves from respiratory infections in general.

Q: How is the virus treated?

A: The most common treatment is simply to make patients comfortable until the immune system fights the virus off, Osterholm says. Children who are breathing rapidly or wheezing should see a doctor, Samuels says. Pediatricians should consider that kids with severe respiratory illness might have this virus, the CDC says.

Q: Where can people learn more?

A: The CDC is posting information on its website: cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus