Primary Children’s Hospital announced Tuesday that the care facility has seen an uptick in the number of children admitted with respiratory disease symptoms. According to a statement from the hospital, many are testing positive for the family of viruses that includes Enterovirus D-68. Many enteroviruses are common and do not tend to make people very ill; however, the D-68 virus has been sending children in 10 states to the hospital, some of them landing in intensive care.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, EV D-68 was first seen in the U.S. in the 1960s, but isn’t generally common. Officials are unsure as to why the virus is spreading so rapidly this year.
Children with asthma also appear to be more sensitive to the illness.
Utah officials are awaiting test results from the CDC to confirm that EV D-68 is the culprit of the hospitalizations at Primary Children’s.
The hospital plans to release more information Wednesday.