Every year thousands of children are infected by enteroviruses, a virus that produces cough, mucus and fever and that, like all viruses, is cure alone without complications. Sometimes it produces diarrhea and vomiting, being the treatment again symptomatic.
However, in Catalonia there are infections by an enterovirus which, in addition to these symptoms, is causing in children under 6 years neurological complications with symptoms such as tremor, difficulty walking, seizures or severe drowsiness.
There are already 40 children affected and in this situation the Department of Salut has chosen to activate a surveillance protocol and start advising preventive measures.
Nine children have been admitted to the ICU
The first cases happened in February, but for two weeks the most serious cases are happening. When a child has been with the infection for two days, suffering from the usual symptoms, neurological involvement begins to appear. When this happens, they are admitted to control the symptoms of the disease and also prevent contagion.
Apparently, and I say apparently because the number of children is different according to the source (it is not a disease of mandatory declaration) Nine children have been admitted to the ICU temporarily, of which now only one would remain. It seems that in Tarragona it is where more cases have occurred, since in the hospital Joan XXIII there are, according to the Diario de Tarragona, six admitted children.
Prevention goes through being more careful with hand hygiene
It is not a panacea, but much of the infection happens by fecal-oral route, so it is important to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water To avoid that transmission. Actually, as they explain in the protocol that has been sent to hospitals "the evolution of these infections is mild, self-limited and without sequelae," but as in a few cases it is leading to more severe conditions, they recommend being more careful with hand hygiene, do not take the child to school if he has a fever and consult the pediatrician if the child has “drowsiness, decay, tremor or any other neurological symptom accompanied by fever”.
Is there nothing else that can be done?
No, there really isn't much else that can be done, but since Babies and more We wanted to expand the recommendations that are usually given both to prevent the spread of this virus and other viruses and bacteria. It is really something we should always do, and it seems that we only remember to do in cases like this:
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water. Proper hand washing is the most important thing to be healthy.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth without first washing your hands.
- Avoid close contact (giving kisses, hugs, sharing glasses or cutlery) with someone who is sick.
- When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth with a tissue or shirt sleeve, not with your hands.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys or door knobs, especially if someone is sick.
- Stay home if you are sick and do not take children to school if they are sick.
Hopefully the alert is only in anecdote and that in the next few days we will not have to talk more about this type of enterovirus. For now, samples of infected children are being analyzed to determine which of the one hundred variants of enterovirus is the one that is producing the neurological symptoms, but the results will not be known in a few days.
