Kids' virus may have hit Lower Hudson

• Four or five children in Westchester may have the virus that's hospitalized children nationwide
• Take kids to the doctor for wheezing or fits of coughing%2C labored breathing or shortness of breath
• Wash your hands%2C don't touch your face and eyes and keep common areas clean
• The virus can take two days to two weeks to appear

A handful of young asthma patients admitted to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center may have the same serious respiratory illness that has sickened children across the country, said Dr. Allen J. Dozor, the hospital's chief of pediatric pulmonology.

Tests done at the hospital have identified the presence of a virus in the enterovirus/rhinovirus family, but neither the state nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed enterovirus D68, said Dozor, also a pediatric pulmonologist with Children's and Women's Physicians of Westchester.

Tests at the hospital lab were done on children sick enough to be admitted, not those who were seen in the emergency room. Still, Dozor suspects the virus has hit our area.

"We know there were positive cases in Albany, and I also know there were a lot of children who came to the emergency room in the last 24 hours in Poughkeepsie, so I think it's likely a lot of these patients have enterovirus D68," he said. The children hospitalized in Westchester, all of whom are doing well, range in age from 6 months to 6 years.

Any child who has fits of coughing, labored breathing, shortness of breath or is wheezing should go straight to the doctor's office, or, after hours, the urgent care center or emergency room, said Dozor.

Children who already have asthma are particularly vulnerable to the effects of EV-D68, and it's vital that parents have adequate supplies of their rescue inhaler on hand, said Dr. Jim Dwyer, chief of emergency services at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. But those who've never had asthma can also develop difficulty breathing if infected.

Late last week, the state Department of Health reported that New York had confirmed cases of the virus. The CDC has confirmed cases of the virus in 11 additional states since mid-August: Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

The Connecticut Health Department is awaiting results on samples sent to the CDC, said spokesman Bill Gerrish.

The virus can be found in saliva, mucus and stool, said epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Calder, associate professor of public health practice at New York Medical College in Valhalla. The germs can also permeate mucus membranes, including those in the eyes and nose, she said.

It spreads from person to person when they cough, sneeze or touch surfaces, said Mary Beth Guyett, a nurse at Lakeland's Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. That means hand washing is extra important, particularly among those who take care of children.

Mild symptoms may include a fever, a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and body and muscle aches. Most of the children who got very ill with EV-D68 had trouble breathing, and some were wheezing.

The virus can take anywhere from two days to two weeks to appear, and can be spread even by people who have no symptoms, said Calder.

Diana Musich, director of human resources at the Pearl River school district, said the district was using the protocols used for flu prevention.

"These prevention efforts include reminding staff and students to wash hands frequently with soap and water, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or upper sleeve," she said. Children should also avoid sharing utensils.

Guyett, of Lakeland, said the district received an advisory from the state Education Department on Monday about preventing the spread of the virus, including hand washing. Pat Pollock, a nurse at Chappaqua's Robert E. Bell Middle School, said personal hygiene would go a long way in combating the virus.

"We remind children to wash their hands often, and to cough and sneeze into their elbows," she said.

Hospital treatment of asthma symptoms produced by viruses like EV-D68 usually consists of inhaled medications, along with oxygen, if necessary, and sometimes a short course of steroids, said Dr. Kevin McSherry, who works in the pediatric emergency room at Nyack Hospital. No cases of the virus have been reported there.

Enterovirus D68 was discovered in California in 1962, and there have been occasional outbreaks in the United States over the years, said Stephen Morse, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. But the reasons for the rapid spread of the virus in recent months isn't quite clear, he said.

"Schools are often where many of these infections have the opportunity to spread rapidly, just because the density is so high," he said.

A system is in place that tracks school absences tied to illnesses, and will allow for monitoring of the disease if it arrives in Rockland, said Dr. E. Oscar Alleyne, director of epidemiology and public health planning for the county Health Department.

"I really wish parents had the luxury, or the option, of not sending their sick kids to school," said Dozor. "It would really help decrease the spread of this stuff."

Twitter: @LindaLombroso

Keep your child from getting and spreading enterovirus D68

• Wash hands often

• Cover coughs and sneezes

• Avoid touching your face and eyes with unwashed hands

• Don't share utensils

• Clean and disinfect surfaces

• Take special care to wash after changing diapers

• Stay home when you're sick

• Avoid close contact with sick people