Prominence. This is an example of prominence because it is a story about a potential sickness that could affect people like you.
Reports of respiratory virus hit several states
Officials in several states, including Missouri, are reporting cases of respiratory illness, some severe enough to send kids to hospitals.
In Kansas City, Mo., more than 300 cases of respiratory illnesses were reported last month, according to the state Department of Health & Senior Services. About 15% of the illnesses resulted in children being placed in an intensive care unit, according to a health alert issued Aug. 29.
Ten states have contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for help in investigating enterovirus — Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky, according to WXIA-TV.
Enteroviruses, with symptoms similar to an intense cold, hits its peak in September, according to medical officials.
But it is unusual that there have been so many hospitalizations, CNN reports.
The number of hospitalizations reported could be "just the tip of the iceberg in terms of severe cases," Mark Pallansch, director of the CDC's Division of Viral Diseases, told CNN.
Pallansch said the division is looking into the situation.
WXIA-TV News medical correspondent Sujatha Reddy said children with asthma or allergies are the ones who are suffering the severest side effects of the virus.
"If you see your kid's condition changing — they're going just from having the sniffles to a fever to now, perhaps, difficulty breathing, or they just look like they don't feel good — you want to take them to the doctor or to the emergency room to make sure," Reddy said. "Because these kids that have asthma (or allergies) and get this enterovirus can get very ill."
This particular type of enterovirus — EV-D68 — is uncommon, but not new. It was first identified in the 1960s.
An analysis by the CDC showed at least 19 of the Kansas City children tested positive for EV-D68, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Vaccines for EV-D68 aren't currently available.
"Many infections will be mild and self-limited, requiring only symptomatic treatment," the analysis said. "Some people with several respiratory illness caused by EV-D68 may need to be hospitalized and receive intensive supportive therapy."
"The virus just runs its course. The illness goes away by itself," Reddy said. "But for kids who may have asthma or may have bad allergies, or have some other underlying medical problem, they're the ones that, potentially, could get more sick."
Denver also is seeing a spike in respiratory illnesses resembling the virus, and hospitals have sent specimens for testing to confirm whether it's the same virus, KUSA-TV reported.
More than 900 children have gone to Children's Hospital Colorado emergency and urgent care locations since Aug. 18 for treatment of severe respiratory illnesses, including enterovirus and viral infections, hospital spokeswoman Melissa Vizcarra told CNN.
Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver had five children in intensive care and 20 more in the pediatric unit, KUSA-TV reported last week.
"This is the worst I've seen in my time here at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children," Raju Meyeppan told the station. "We're going to have a pretty busy winter at this institution and throughout the hospitals of Denver."
Will Cornejo, 13, was among the children in intensive care at Rocky Mountain after he came down with a cold and then woke up Tuesday night with an asthma attack that couldn't be controlled with his medicine albuterol. His mother, Jennifer, called 911 when her son's breathing became shallow, and her son was airlifted to the Denver hospital, she told KUSA.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/09/08/respiratory-virus-midwest-children/15269751/
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