The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning for doctors and parents following the death of a baby in Connecticut from Parechovirus.
You can read the CDC’s health advisory here.
Since May, the CDC says they have received reports in multiple states of babies and young kids being infected with Parechovirus.
WAAY 31 spoke to an infectious disease expert on Tuesday who says the Parechovirus is not a new virus.
“The most common symptoms usually are fever and rash,” Huntsville Hospital Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Ali Hassoun said. “If it involves the respiratory tract, then they’ll have a cough, sometimes a runny nose, stuff like that. If it involves the GI tract, they can have what we call gastroenteritis like diarrhea, sometimes nausea and vomiting.”
Dr. Ali Hassoun says the concern is in babies where severe illness can occur.
“Six months and below in infants there are chances of involvement of the brain we call meningitis and involvement of the heart we call myocarditis, but these are very, very rare,” Dr. Hassoun said.
The CDC says the virus typically circulates in the summer and fall in children six months to 5-years-old.
“There are cases that it can happen with cough, but the most common is fecal-oral transmission,” Dr. Hassoun said when asked how the virus spreads.
There’s no FDA approved treatment for Parechovirus currently.
Dr. Hassoun says in most non severe cases, the virus will resolve on its own.
“It’s really you hydrate and try to eat well. Try to do your hand hygiene the best you can because it can get transmitted to others,” Dr. Hassoun said.
The Alabama Department of Public Health told WAAY 31 they haven’t been made aware of any cases currently in the state.
They also say new testing has allowed for physicians to diagnosis this virus more readily.
