Health officials are issuing warnings about a rare virus that led to the hospitalization of hundreds of children in the Midwest and South.
Enterovirus D68 initially looks like the common cold but can lead to severe respiratory symptoms, such as wheezing.
Suspected cases have been reported in Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Georgia and Utah.
One hospital in Colorado has seen more than 900 children with symptoms since mid-August, with 86 having severe symptoms, reports ABC News. On Aug. 19, the CDC was notified by Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., of an increase in patients hospitalized for severe respiratory illness. On Aug. 23, University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital in Illinois notified the CDC of an increase in patients similar to those seen in Kansas City.
So far, it appears the patients affected by the virus range in age from six week to 16 years. The virus is expected to spread across the country.
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