A Renown Regional Medical Center spokesperson has confirmed that a patient has tested positive for enterovirus, but it is unknown if it is the more serious D68 strain.
Nearly 600 cases of enterovirus D68 have been confirmed across the country, but none in Nevada. Symptoms vary from a fever and runny nose, to wheezing and difficulty breathing. Unfortunately, a four-year-old New Jersey boy died, and tested positive for that strain.
Enterovirus is fairly common, with more than 100 strains that typically turn up during the summer and fall.
"Renown has reported a positive case of enterovirus but we recommended that the sample go on to a lab for further testing," Phillip Ulibarri, Washoe County Health District Spokesman said. "We haven't received that test back yet."
It's unknown how long it will take before those results will be available. Until then, parents are encouraged to be proactive.
"I think parents should be concerned about the health and safety of their children, all the time," Ulibarri said. "So, there's always things you can do around the house to make sure that your house is clean. Always wash down common surfaces."
That's exactly what area preschools like the Child Garden practice. Especially, since young children are prone to spreading germs.
"They like to put things in their mouths and touch things," Hayley Hamel, Director of Child Garden said. "So, we try to have them wash their hands as much as possible."
They also make sure that classrooms are as clean as possible.
"At the end of the day, we disinfect all the toys, using a bleach/water solution," Hamel said. "We also disinfect the tables before and after every meal time."
While the preschool is doing its part to keep their children safe, Hamel says parents are doing the same.
"A lot of our parents work at Renown and Saint Mary's," Hamel said. "We have a lot of nurses here, so they are pretty up-to-date on what's going on."
Kids with a temperature higher than 100.1 degrees are not allowed to come to school. Teachers monitor kids to make sure they're healthy.
"Parents should not be worried, right now," Hamel said. "We have not had any illnesses here, at The Child Garden. We definitely are taking it very seriously, though."
Infants, children and teenagers are most likely to get infected with enterovirus because they haven't developed immunity to it. Kids with asthma have a higher risk for severe respiratory illness, related to it.
