A Maine child who has a severe viral infection is being tested for enterovirus D86, a respiratory virus that started in the Midwest and has recently spread to the Northeast, state health officials reported on Monday.
The testing is a precaution, as the child has a 1 percent chance or smaller of having the D86 strain of the virus, said Dr. Sheila Pinette, executive director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pinette said enterovirus is common and comes in many strains – causing 10 million to 15 million illnesses per year – but the D86 strain is worrisome because it has resulted in hundreds of hospitalizations across the country. There is no vaccine or cure for enterovirus. A sample is being sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms are similar to the common cold, including coughing, fever, sniffling, body and muscle aches. In severe cases, patients have difficulty breathing, according to the CDC.
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