Virus That Can Cause Severe Illness in Babies Seen in Multiple States, CDC Cautions

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07/15/2022

photo: Pixabay

Nbcnews.com

Health care providers in multiple states have reported a virus that can cause seizures, meningitis and other severe illnesses in infants under 3 months old, federal officials said Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert notifying doctors and public health departments that cases of parechovirus have been seen in newborns and young infants since May. 

The alert doesn't say which states have seen infections in young children or how many cases have been reported. 

The advisory notes that because there is no systematic surveillance for parechovirus it isn't clear how the number of cases compares to earlier seasons. But increased testing in recent years could account for a higher number of cases, the agency said.

Every positive case recorded by the agency has involved PeV-A3, the type of parechovirus that most often causes severe disease, the CDC said. 

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