Children's Hospital Confirms Four 'Enterovirus D68' Cases Found Here
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has revealed that it treated four cases of respiratory infection that turned out to be the enterovirus that's been spreading across the country.
A CHOP spokesperson says the hospital sent to the US Centers for Disease Control five sample from patients suffering respiratory illness, and has just received results showing four of them were suffering from enterovirus D68, a strain of the virus that's been galloping eastward from the midwest since it was identified about a month ago.
The CDC says cases of D68 have been confirmed in 130 children in twelve states since mid-August, but it's likely many more were infected.
The virus causes fever, body aches, coughing, sneezing, and difficulty breathing, especially in children with asthma.
CHOP says the patients all were discharged after staying in the hospital four to six days.
There's no vaccine and no specific treatment for the virus. The CDC recommends normal preventive steps such as frequent and thorough handwashing.
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