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Prevention measures for current enterovirus outbreak

6 Oct 2014 | Ameesha Felton Marine Corps Base Quantico


There have been no reported cases of respiratory illness involving enterovirus D-68 aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, but the Department of Defense and the Naval Health Clinic Quantico are taking preventive measures.

“The recent outbreaks of … enterovirus D-68 that are being reported in multiple states have the potential to place our children's health at risk,” wrote Jonathan Woodson, M.D., assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, in a memo last month to all branches of the Department of Defense. “This virus spreads from person-to-person when an infected person coughs, sneezes or touches contaminated surfaces. There are no vaccines or antiviral medications that are effective against this virus. As a result, it is important to implement prevention measures in our Child Development Centers and in our Department of Defense Education Activity schools in the continental United States, particularly when clusters of this illness are reported in the surrounding communities.”

 

The Naval Health Center Quantico is preparing in the event of a case aboard Quantico.


“All of our providers have been educated on the virus, including symptoms, lab work and treatment,” NHCQ public affairs officer Heidi Linscott wrote in an email. “We have signs outside of our clinic indicating that, if a patient suspects they or their family members have a contagious virus, to please call our front desk so we can make sure they are treated in a private area.”

According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, “from mid-August to Sept. 26, CDC or state public health laboratories have confirmed a total of 277 people from 40 states and the District of Columbia with respiratory illness caused by [enterovirus]. The 40 states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

“This indicates that at least one case has been detected in each state listed but does not indicate how widespread infections are in each state.”

So far, anecdotally, school-aged children and younger appear to be more at risk to enterovirus than adults.

“The illness appears to affect primarily children, with the illness reported in those as young as 16 weeks of age,” Woodson wrote. “The most common symptoms are a mild cold or respiratory illness. In some individuals, the illness may progress to wheezing and difficulty breathing, and require hospitalization, especially among children with asthma.”

Testing to confirm whether or not a respiratory illness is due to enterovirus is time consuming.

According to the CDC, “it can take a while to test specimens and obtain lab results. That’s because the testing is complex and slower, and can only be done by CDC and a small number of state public health laboratories. As the backlog of specimens is processed, the number of states and confirmed cases will likely increase. These increases will not necessarily reflect changes in real time or mean that the situation is getting worse.”

What is clear, however, is that health care officials encourage people to follow preventive measures to help minimize the risk of transmitting the virus from person to person.


Marine Corps Base Quantico