Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Two children are first diagnosed in state with respiratory illness

Martha Bellisle Associated Press

SEATTLE – Two children recently treated at a Seattle hospital tested positive for enterovirus D68, a severe respiratory illness, health officials said Friday.

Confirmation of these cases are “the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, chief of communicable disease and epidemiology at Public Health – Seattle and King counties. With the illness appearing locally, Duchin said, it’s likely to appear in other areas of the state.

“We’re seeing low-level circulation related to D68, but we can’t predict how much this will contribute to the mix and lead to hospitalizations,” Duchin said. “We’re early in the process.”

Duchin said D68 is one of a variety of respiratory viruses that have led to hospitalizations. The virus spreads similarly to the common cold, through sneezing or coughing or touching contaminated surfaces.

Since it tends to impact children with asthma more severely, parents of these children should have action plans that include medications and consulting with a physician. He said there are key things all parents can do to help protect their children: hand-washing, flu vaccines and avoiding people who are sick during the flu season.

The two confirmed cases at Seattle Children’s Hospital, one each from King and Snohomish counties, made Washington among the 22 states in the U.S. with enterovirus D68, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 153 people in at least 18 states had confirmed cases of the virus.

There is no vaccine for this virus. No children in the U.S. have died from enterovirus D68-related illnesses, the CDC said.