Enterovirus D68: Hundreds diagnosed across United States as disease claims its first victim

The serious respiratory disease can easily be confused for the common cold

Enterovirus D68: Hundreds diagnosed across the United States as disease claims its first victim ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention )

A four-year-old in New Jersey has been confirmed as the first fatality in the US from enterovirus D68, a serious respiratory disease which can easily be confused for the common cold.

Eli Walter, a pre-schooler from Hamilton, died from the virus at the end of last month. He went to bed seemingly healthy and never woke up, USA Today reported.

Tests for enterovirus D68, which has infected 593 other children and one adult across 43 US states, were carried out on Eli over the weekend.

The disease has been detected in four other children who have died in America, the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said, although the role enterovirus played in their deaths was unclear.

Eli’s family have issued a statement mourning the loss of their “perfect, beautiful son”. The youngest of three triplets, they were quoted as saying he was “truly full of unconditional love”.

The Mayor of Hamilton, Kelly A. Yaede, led in tributes to the child saying Hamilton had lost one of its own, “an adorable little boy”.

Another pupil at Eli’s Yardville Elementary School was diagnosed with a respiratory illness after sharing the same classroom as the four-year-old. The second child has recovered, Hamilton health authorities have said, although he has not yet returned to school.

In New Jersey nine cases of EV D68 have been confirmed in eight of the state’s 21 counties.

Parents and teachers are now on the look-out for the virus which is related to foot and mouth and was first discovered in California in 1962.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) building in Atlanta, where they are reportedly testing samples for Enterovirus D68 from patients in ten states including Missouri, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky (Google)

This latest outbreak in the US is the worst recorded and medical authorities are still getting to grips with the disease.

The Rhode Island Department of Health, where one other child is known to have died from EV 68 in combination with another infection, has said that only a very small portion of people who contract the virus will present symptoms.

“The mild symptoms are similar to the common cold, but can progress to wheezing and problems breathing. Infants, children, and teens are most at risk, especially children with asthma,” the state’s Department of Health said.

Enterovirus 68 outbreak: What is the respiratory illness affecting hundreds of children in the US?

Enterovirus D68: Hundreds of children across ten US states treated for respiratory illness linked to common cold

There is currently no vaccine to prevent the disease and there have been nine recent case reports of acute neurologic illness, including partial paralysis, as a result of the outbreak.

The virus is spread through close contact with infected people. Coughs, sneezes and touching objects or surfaces with the virus are common ways to become infected