Colorado Among The Enterovirus-Stricken States Asking For CDC Assistance

DENVER (CBS4) - Ten states including Colorado are asking the CDC for help investigating the high number of respiratory virus cases that is sickening kids.

In Colorado, the human enterovirus 68 has hospitalized dozens of children with cold-like symptoms that can be severe. The virus often strikes in the fall, as kids are returning to school, and the number of cases this season has increased significantly.

The virus has sent as many as 30 children a day to hospitals in Kansas City, Mo. Antibiotics aren't administered because it's not a bacterial infection, and doctors generally treat symptoms only.

Will Cornejo (credit: CBS)

Some patients in Colorado have been placed on ventilators in the ICU.

"I remember thinking I was going to die," 13-year-old Will Cornejo told CBS4. "Yesterday I felt like I couldn't breathe at all."