An outbreak of respiratory illness, caused by enterovirus 68, is still sending large numbers of Denver-area children, especially those with asthma, to emergency rooms and intensive-care units in children’s hospitals.
From Aug. 18 to Wednesday afternoon, Children’s Hospital Colorado had treated more than 1,750 children for severe respiratory illness in its emergency and urgent-care locations throughout the metro area. Of these, 156 were admitted to the hospital.
More than 800 of these new cases have occurred in the past week.
The outbreak is not showing signs of slowing, said hospital spokeswoman Elizabeth Whitehead. Almost 200 new cases were reported between Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon.
The virus, similar to the rhinovirus, usually causes common cold symptoms, but this current strain also has caused many children in at least 11 states to experience sudden difficulty in breathing, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Clusters of respiratory illness associated with enterovirus 68 have been reported rarely since the virus was first isolated in California in 1962, the CDC said, but there were a few known outbreaks between 2009 and 2010 in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276, edraper@denverpost.com or
