More than a thousand children across the United States have been hospitalized after contracting a respiratory illness, which is likely to become a nationwide problem, doctors said.
Enterovirus EV-D68, a rare respiratory virus that hasn't officially been identified, is suspected to be the cause of the outbreak, ABC News reported. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is related to the rhinovirus, which causes cold-like symptoms.
"It can start just like a cold - runny nose, sneezing, coughs - but it's the wheezing you have to watch out for," ABC News Chief Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser said
Last month, more than 300 cases of respiratory illnesses were reported in Kansas City, Mo., according to the state Department of Health & Senior Services, with 15 percent of the illnesses resulting in children being placed in an intensive care unit.
Similar cases to the ones in Kansas City are now cropping up across the U.S., Mark Pallansch, director of the Division of Viral Diseases at the CDC, said. Over the past month, ten states have contacted the CDC for help in investigating the virus - Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Georgia, USA Today reported.
"Viruses don't tend to respect borders," Besser said. "It is only 10 states now, but it's going to be across the country. So if your state doesn't have it now, watch for it, it's coming."
Although the doctors remain uncertain how this particular virus spreads or where it came from, the back-to-school season in September is a peak time for illnesses to spread among children, medical officials said, adding that the number of cases is likely to rise.
"This is a very common time for outbreaks. Kids come back to school, they like to share things, they bring them home to their little brothers and sisters, and enteroviruses tend to occur in the summer," Besser said. "But this one, this particular Enterovirus 68, is very rare and they have no idea why it showed up this year."
First discovered in 1960s, enteroviruses are common and usually do not require hospital care. But the past month has witnessed an unusually high number of cases where the cold-like symptoms have developed into acute respiratory distress, eventually hospitalizing patients, and in some cases, placing them in intensive care, BBC News reported.
The number of hospitalizations reported could be "just the tip of the iceberg in terms of severe cases," Pallansch told CNN.
Dr. Christine Nyquist, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital Colorado, said the virus usually ends up appearing similar to a severe cold but can be particularly dangerous for children with asthma because of how it affects the respiratory system.
"The kids are coming in with respiratory symptoms, their asthma is exacerbated," Nyquist said. "Kids with no wheezing are having wheezing."
However, vaccines for EV-D68 aren't currently available.
"The virus just runs its course. The illness goes away by itself," WXIA-TV News Medical Correspondent Sujatha Reddy said. "But for kids who may have asthma or may have bad allergies, or have some other underlying medical problem, they're the ones that, potentially, could get more sick."
Since the illness spreads through close contact with infected people, the CDC recommends basic sanitary practices to avoid spreading the virus and reducing the risk of infection, including frequent hand washing, avoiding those who are sick, and covering the nose and mouth during sneezes or coughs.
