As of Thursday morning, 153 cases of Enterovirus D68 had been confirmed in 18 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But those numbers don’t appear to include the new California cases.
A rare but serious respiratory illness that has infected more than 150 people, most of them children, in the United States in recent weeks has reached California, public health authorities said Thursday.
Four Southern California children, between ages 2 and 13, have tested positive for Enterovirus D68. The children were hospitalized in intensive care units this month but have since returned home and are recovering.
The sick children are from San Diego and Ventura counties, but public health authorities said there are almost definitely other cases in the state that haven’t been identified.
“We’re really only beginning to look. In the next week or so, we may identify other places in the state that have positive cases right now,” said Dr. Carol Glaser, interim chief of the immunization branch of the Center for Infectious Diseases with the California Public Health Department. Glaser spoke with reporters during a conference call Thursday.
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