NKU Staffer Suspected Of D-68; Hospitals Limiting Visitors

(Highland Heights, Ky.) - Enterovirus D-68 may have arrived in the tri-state. Northern Kentucky University president Geoffrey Mearns announced Thursday that a staff member at the college is suspected of contracting the respiratory illness. The employee exhibited symptoms of the virus on Monday and has not returned to campus since visiting the doctor that day. Enteroviruses are very common viruses, infecting 10 to 15 million in the United States each year, according to the Northern Kentucky Health Department. Most people infected with enteroviruses have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, but some infections can be serious. Most enterovirus infections in the U.S. occur seasonally during the summer and fall, and outbreaks of tend to occur in several-year cycles. EV-D68, the strain being seen in recent weeks, is much less common. Unlike other enteroviruses, which can cause respiratory problems, fever, rash and meningitis, EV-D68 has been associated almost exclusively with respiratory disease. It has hospitalized many people, especially children, in a number of states. Area hospitals are taking precautions. Cincinnati Children's Hospital put visitor restrictions in place on Thursday amid the D-68 outbreak.  Hospital officials say all visitors should be healthy and visitation by children is being limited to siblings only. Symptoms of D-68 include fever, runny nose, sneezing, and cough. You can read more about enterovirus D-68 and hear an interview with Dr. Katrina Lock from Spine and Neuromuscular Associates of Southeast Indiana in Lawrenceburg here. Lock says despite the heightened coverage of the virus outbreak, the virus does not pose a huge public health risk. RELATED STORIES: AUDIO: State, Local Health Experts Temper Concerns Over Respiratory Virus