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District warns parents about Enterovirus D68

The virus that has hit the country's children particularly hard this fall has prompted Philly school officials to take action.

This undated photo provided by his father, Andy Waller, shows Eli Thomas Waller, 4, of Hamilton Township, N.J. Eli died Sept. 25, 2014 of enterovirus 68. The virus has sickened more than 500 people in 43 states and Washington, D.C., almost all of them children. There have been nine cases reported in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Andy Waller)
This undated photo provided by his father, Andy Waller, shows Eli Thomas Waller, 4, of Hamilton Township, N.J. Eli died Sept. 25, 2014 of enterovirus 68. The virus has sickened more than 500 people in 43 states and Washington, D.C., almost all of them children. There have been nine cases reported in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Andy Waller)Read more
    by BY REGINA MEDINA, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:medinar@phillynews.com">medinar@phillynews.com</a>, 215-854-5985
    Published 

ENTEROVIRUS D68, which causes severe respiratory illness and has hit the nation's children particularly hard this fall, has prompted the Philadelphia School District to take action.

The virus, identified in 1962 and affecting mainly children with fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat, was determined to have caused the death last month of Eli Waller, 4, a preschooler in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, N.J.

Waller had gone to bed with pinkeye and died in his sleep Sept. 25. New Jersey officials said the pinkeye was not related to his death.

In early September, district officials sent parents a letter reminding them of the cold/flu season and suggesting preventive measures. Although the letter didn't mention enterovirus, it was accompanied by a Department of Public Health advisory on the virus, district spokesman Fernando Gallard said.

"The School District of Philadelphia has been working with parents and school-based staff on ways to prevent respiratory illnesses for many, many years," Gallard said.

"We feel like we're ready to deal with Enterovirus 68," Gallard added. "Our school staff is aware and well-informed."

In early August, after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were notified by hospitals in Chicago and Kansas City, Mo., of the enterovirus' severe impact on children, local health officials began to monitor for EV-D68 cases but found no uptick in pulmonary-related emergency-room visits, according to the Health Department advisory.

"We cannot say with certainty that this strain is not circulating in the community. However, surveillance does not currently indicate the presence of a local outbreak," the advisory reads, with the last sentence in bold print.

Officials have assured that each district school is equipped with a special cleaning solution in case of an outbreak. Maintenance workers were sent instructions on how to handle the disinfectant, Gallard said.

As of yesterday, four people across the nation infected with the virus had died, but it is believed that other factors were involved in their deaths, according to the CDC. Eli Waller is believed to be the first child to have died solely from the virus.

Children are vulnerable to the virus especially if they already suffer from a pulmonary illness such as asthma.

Online: ph.ly/DNEducation