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Patient At Danbury Hospital Undergoing Testing For Enterovirus

DANBURY, Conn. -- A patient at Danbury Hospital is being tested for the enterovirus D68, or EV-D68, a severe respiratory infection affecting young children, according to the website for WFSB Channel 3.

Photo Credit: Danbury Hospital

The state Department of Public Health reported Monday that eight patients in the state are suspected of having the dangerous virus. The other patients are at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, according to WFSB.

Test results are expected by the end of the week.

The virus starts like a common cold but can be more dangerous. More than 100 cases have been reported nationwide, with many of the patients being hospitalized. It affect infants, children and teens.

Doctors in Danbury said a child who had a cold was given a swab test. The sample was sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing, WFSB said.

"We are working with the hospitals to facilitate testing for EV-D68 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," said a statement from Dr. Matthew L. Cartter, state epidemiologist and director of infectious diseases.  

The CDC reports that from mid-August to Sept. 12, a total of 97 people in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Missouri have been confirmed to have the respiratory illness caused by EV-D68. 

On Sept. 12, the New York state Department of Health announced that EV-D68 had been confirmed in more than a dozen children in New York.

Severely ill patients confirmed to have EV-D68 experience difficulty breathing and hypoxemia, as well as some with wheezing.

Most patients were not feverish, even during their hospital stays, the CDC said. 

About two-thirds of the cases had a previous medical history of asthma or wheezing, but some patients had no underlying respiratory illnesses.

Most patients, who ranged in age from 6 weeks through 16 years, were admitted to pediatric intensive care units.

Of the 30 patients who were positive for EV-D68, two required mechanical ventilation, and six required bilevel positive airway pressure ventilation.

Read the full story on Danbury Hospital here at the WFSB website. Read about the reported cases of the EV-D68 here on the Daily Voice. 

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