Enterovirus D68 can lead to severe respiratory illness in even healthy kids

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) could cause extreme acute respiratory sickness (ARI) in in any other case wholesome kids of all ages, with hospitalized kids who’ve an underlying situation aside from bronchial asthma or who’ve reactive airway illness (RAD) at greater threat for poor outcomes, finds a examine printed yesterday in JAMA Community Open.

A group led by researchers from the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) mined information from the New Vaccine Surveillance Community, a system based mostly in emergency departments (EDs) and hospitals at seven US pediatric medical facilities.

Youngsters with medically attended ARI who examined optimistic for EV-D68 had been enrolled throughout platform-wide EV-D68 testing intervals (July to October 2017, July to November 2018, July to November 2020, and July 2021 to December 2022). Sufferers had not less than one qualifying ARI symptom for lower than 14 days at enrollment.

EV-D68 causes delicate to extreme ARI, together with bronchial asthma exacerbations, and is tied to acute flaccid myelitis, a uncommon however critical neurologic situation inflicting limb weak point and variable restoration of perform. Signs of EV-D68 an infection might embrace apnea, cough, earache, fever, muscle ache, nasal congestion, sore throat, vomiting after coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing.

Half of these hospitalized had no power situation

A complete of 976 kids examined optimistic for EV-D68, the median age was 47 months, 40.1% had been ladies, and most had been enrolled in 2018 (382 kids) and 2022 (533). Of the 856 kids contaminated with solely EV-D68, 320 had been launched house from the ED, and 74.1% of them had no underlying circumstances. The remaining 536 sufferers had been hospitalized, half of them having no power circumstances.

Further years of lively surveillance are vital to totally perceive EV-D68 epidemiology as disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic dissipate, and well being care preparation for extreme EV-D68 outcomes is prudent.

Of the 536 hospitalized sufferers, 37.1% had bronchial asthma or RAD, and 14.4% had a special situation. The presence of a non-asthma situation or RAD was linked to a better likelihood of requiring supplemental oxygen (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]2.72) or intensive care (aOR, 3.09).

“Further years of lively surveillance are vital to totally perceive EV-D68 epidemiology as disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic dissipate, and well being care preparation for extreme EV-D68 outcomes is prudent,” the authors wrote.