Enterovirus Confirmed in Washington State, 160 Sick
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Thomas Northcut/Digital Vision/Thinkstock(KING COUNTY, Wash.) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed at least two cases of Enterovirus 68 in Washington state, officials announced on Friday.
The CDC “did confirm the presence of Enterovirus 68 in two children that were hospitalized at Children’s Hospital,” Dr. Jeff Duchin of King County Public Health said. The respiratory disease is now confirmed in at least 22 states, and about 160 people have fallen ill.
Duchin urged Washington residents not to panic, saying that “there is no need for parents to bring their children to a health care provider or an emergency department for Enterovirus D-68 testing,” and that doing so would not have “a value to the patient.”
The news, Duchin says, “confirms that this virus is in our community, which was not surprising. It’s circulating and we may see additional cases over the coming weeks, although we really can’t predict at this point if we will see a lot more or a few more.”
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