Hundreds of cases of enterovirus have been diagnosed in Canada and the United States and now there are confirmed cases in both New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
The enterovirus family covers about 120 strains – everything from polio to the common cold. The EV-D68 strain typically causes cold-like symptoms, but this season, in some extreme cases, it has been linked to paralysis and death.
News that three children have tested positive for the virus is sounding alarm bells in New Brunswick, although it hasn’t been confirmed if the cases are the more serious EV-D68 strain.
P.E.I. health officials confirm a child under the age of 10 tested positive for the EV-D68 strain of enterovirus. The child was treated in hospital and has made a full recovery.
With hundreds of confirmed cases in Canada, provincial health ministers are on high alert.
“I know we are well prepared here in Nova Scotia,” says Nova Scotia Health Minister Leo Glavine.
The province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Robert Strang, expects it to spread more widely.
“In all likelihood, we will see some cases of enterovirus,” says Strang. “Our lab is looking for it.”
While there are no confirmed cases of enterovirus in Nova Scotia at this time, some children at the IWK Health Centre have been tested for the virus as a precaution.
“The testing is happening if children present with respiratory symptoms,” says Dr. Robin Taylor, medical officer of health for the Capital District Health Authority. “If any physicians at the IWK think it’s necessary, they will do a swab.”
The EV-D68 strain was first identified in 1962 and surfaced again in mid-August. A small number of children with the strain have experienced muscle weakness or partial paralysis, although it hasn’t been tied directly to the virus yet.
“For the vast majority of kids, even with this D68 strain, it will just be no more than the common cold,” says Strang.
He says parents should look for a high temperature that persists and difficulty breathing.
“Anybody with asthma I’d be concerned about,” says Taylor. “Anybody with lung problems to start with.”
Like the common cold, EV-D68 can be spread through coughing and sneezing or by close contact with infected persons. Health officials say frequent handwashing can protect against the virus.
“Prevention when it comes to respiratory viruses is pretty easy, so if we can wash our hands, coughing into our sleeves or a Kleenex and throwing it out, keeping the environment clean, then whatever virus you’re looking at, you’re much more likely to prevent it,” says Taylor.
Doctors say adults aren’t typically at risk because most have been exposed to EV-D68 and have built up some immunity as a result.
They say influenza remains a greater health risk and are urging people to get flu shots.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jayson Baxter
