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Properly washing hands can reduce the spread of infections.

(REPUBLICAN FILE)

SPRINGFIELD - With recent reports that a virus, which has sent hundreds of children to hospitals in the Midwest, with respiratory distress, may have spread to Connecticut, one area doctor has been urging his patients to be vigilant about symptoms, as well as hygiene, out of the belief the virus "will be" here.

Dr. Jonathan Bayuk

Known as EV-D68, this strain of enterovirus has not resulted in any reported fatalities, but has landed some of those most at risk, children with asthma and premature babies with respiratory issues, in intensive care units. There are many enteroviruses, and they are associated with a number of conditions, including the common cold.

"I have been telling patients that there is a very aggressive virus, similar to a cold, that can quickly (within hours), put a child into a breathing emergency that may require hospitalization," said Dr. Jonathan Bayuk, a board certified allergist and clinical immunologist, with offices in Springfield, Northampton and Westfield.

Bayuk said that while "the virus has not yet been seen here, it will be." He added, however, that "enteroviruses, such as EV-68, tend to be a late summer not winter event."

The EV-D68 virus, found in bodily fluids like mucus and saliva, is spread through actions like sneezing, coughing, and touching infected surfaces. The return to school is partly blamed for how quickly the seasonal virus has infected children at risk.

Bayuk said he has had to hospitalize some of his younger patients, with asthma, with similar viruses.

"Unfortunately, even when well managed, asthmatic viral infections are hard to predict and every year asthmatic and sometimes newly diagnosed asthmatics are admitted with this being there first exacerbation," Bayuk said.

There is no cure for EV-D68, and, in most cases, the illness runs it course. Hospitalized patients generally receive supportive care, such as IV fluids, and breathing assistance, to help their immune systems fight off the infection.

According to media reports, a spokesman for Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, in Hartford, confirmed the facility is treating children with EV-D68-like symptoms, but confirmation of the virus's presence awaits testing on samples sent to the Centers for Disease Control. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services had said, on Sept. 8 ,there were no similar occurrences in the Commonwealth.

Bayuk termed prevention, in the form of good hygiene, the "best medicine."

"Wash your hands and don't touch you face," Bayuk said. "After that I am advising my patients that, if their child seems unusually ill or significantly short of breath, to immediately get to a hospital, and if necessary, call 911."