Bay Area's First 2 Cases Of Enterovirus 68 Reported In Alameda County
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Health officials have confirmed the Bay Area's first two cases of the uncommon respiratory infection enterovirus D68 in Alameda County Thursday morning.
Both cases involve patients ages 18 or younger, Alameda County's Director of Communicable Disease Control and Planning Dr. Erica Pan said at a news conference in Oakland Thursday.
Pan said she was "not surprised at all" about the virus showing up in Alameda County because of the other cases across the nation recently but said residents "should not be alarmed."
Enterovirus 68 is one of more than 100 types of enterovirus. It mostly causes respiratory illness and its symptoms vary from mild to severe. There have been no deaths reported as a result of the virus.
There are eight total cases of the infection in California with all patients under the 18 years of age, according to California Department of Health spokeswoman Anita Gore.
In September, San Diego health officials say three local children and a fourth visiting from Ventura County were hospitalized after contracting the infection and have since improved and been released. The children ranged in age from 2 to 13.
Other cases have also been reported in Ventura, Long Beach and Los Angeles counties.
The federal Centers for Disease Control says the virus has been identified as causing cases of severe respiratory illness across more than a dozen other states since mid-August, usually in young children and many with asthma.
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To prevent upper respiratory infections, practice thorough hand washing.
If you or your child develops sustained weakness in one or more limbs, call your doctor and get rapid medical attention.
If your child is sick, with an upper respiratory infection, they should stay home as long as they show symptoms.
- What You Need To Know: Enterovirus D68