Although no cases of the Enterovirus-D68 have been reported in Chilton County, the Alabama Department of Public Health released several tips to avoid contracting the virus.

The disease, found mostly in children from infancy to 17, has more severe respiratory symptoms than the common cold.

In general, enteroviruses have various symptoms, including mild respiratory, fever, rash and neurologic illness, according to a press release from the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Ailments associated with the D68 strain of the enterovirus can include wheezing, muscle aches, and severe respiratory symptoms that could lead to infection.

The Alabama Department of Public Health is currently investigating clusters of children with suspected EV-D68.

As of Sept. 15, results show four of six specimens from Mobile County sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are positive for EV-D68.

The ADPH urges children to wash their hands frequently, cover their cough; parents to keep children home if ill; avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands; avoid kissing, hugging and sharing cups and eating utensils with sick people; disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as toys and doorknobs.

Lead Nurse Chrysta Russell of Chilton County Schools said the biggest line of defense against the virus, as well as other viruses associated with the common cold, is to wash your hands.

“We talk about that with the students every year,” Russell said.

Although Russell said students are more than likely not sent home from school due to having a cold, parents are usually called to pick up a child if the child is exhibiting signs of a fever that is more than 100 degrees.

“If a child starts getting cold symptoms, and then they get a fever of more than 100 degrees, I am going to want that child to go home and stay at home until they can be fever free,” Russell said.

In a media briefing on Sept. 8, Dr. David Kimberlin, co-director of the UAB Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children’s of Alabama addressed symptoms and precautions to prevent spread of Enterovirus-D68.

In the 13-minute video, Kimberlin explained the EV-D68 virus is not a new virus, but one that has been around for about 52 years.

“When someone has a cold between June and October, many times it is an enterovirus,” Kimberlin explained. “This particular strain just seems to be more pathogenic, more aggressive.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the virus was first identified in California in 1962, but it has not been commonly reported in the United States.

According to the CDC, from mid-August to Sept. 16, a total of 130 people from 12 states were confirmed to have respiratory illness caused by EV-D68.

The 12 states are Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

The cases of EV-D68 infection were confirmed by the CDC or state public health laboratories that notified CDC.

Health care providers have been asked to report clusters of cases. While individual cases of EV-D68 do not require reporting, a cluster must be reported, according to a press release from the ADPH.

There is no vaccine, and treatment depends on the symptoms.

For more information about the virus, visit www.adph.org.