Hundreds of US children hospitalised by cold virus

                   
Hundreds of children across the US have been hospitalised after contracting a respiratory virus, doctors have said. Enterovirus EV-D68 , a virus which causes cold-like symptoms, is believed to be the cause of the outbreak.

 Ten states across the US Midwest from Colorado to North Carolina have reported cases over the past month, with dozens of children admitted to intensive care.

 The number of cases is likely to rise, experts have said. Enteroviruses are common and usually do not require hospital care. The symptoms typically manifest as an intense summer cold, with the number of infections declining in September.


 But over the past month, hospitals have reported an unusually high number of cases where the cold-like symptoms have developed into acute respiratory distress and where the patient has needed hospitalisation, and in some cases, intensive care. Kansas City, Missouri, and Denver, Colorado, are both reporting an increase in the number of children admitted for respiratory illness.

 This increase could be "just the tip of the iceberg in terms of severe cases", the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) virologist, Mark Pallansch, told CNN. The CDC said 10 states had contacted it for help in investigating clusters of the virus.

 These are Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. The illness spreads through close contact with infected people. Frequent hand washing and good hygiene reduces the risk of infection.