VANCOUVER – Annika and Russell Williams have not had a cold in months and for mom Elissa, that’s been a huge relief.
Both her young children suffer from asthma. But as we head into fall and winter, she is bracing herself for more than just the regular cold and flu.
She’s also been tracking the spread of enterovirus D68.
“Now knowing that it is here and watching the news updates every day, I’m quite terrified actually,” said Elissa. “To be honest.”
And she does have good reason for her fear.
Though most children who get the enterovirus recover with nothing worse than common cold-like symptoms, those who have a history of respiratory illness or lowered immune systems face the greatest risk.
“They may not handle enteroviruses in general and D68 in particular as well as others,” said Dr. Danuta Skowronski from the BC Centre for Disease Control. “So if they develop severe respiratory illness, they should get their children seen right away.”
So far, there are eight confirmed cases in B.C. and more than 160 across the country.
In the U.S., more than 500 cases have been reported and four of those patients have died.
Health officials there are still trying to figure out any link between enterovirus D68 and the deaths.
Now we are also hearing about more cases of patients coming down with symptoms of paralysis including two in B.C.
And that has prompted experts to advise all parents to pay extra attention.
“If parents happen to notice wheezing, difficulty breathing, any kind of paralysis, especially if there is no fever, then what you need to do is, you really need to seek medical attention,” said microbiologist Jason Tetro, based in Toronto.
There hasn’t been a spike of severe illness here yet as in other regions, and that could be due to the delayed start of school.
But authorities are expecting to see more cases of EV-D68 all over B.C.
– With files from Elaine Youg
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