Enterovirus news spurs Rainbow Station into action

Sending children off to the first day of school can be a proud moment for parents with kids of any grade, as well as a welcome return to the post-summer routine when trusted educators spend most of the day with their children. But along with the thrill of students returning to school comes the potential to catch a cold or the flu from one of their classmates. This past month, however, one strain of the flu emerged as a particularly worrisome health hazard for children. The flu known as Enterovirus 68, or EV-D68, showed up in reported cases in 22 states this fall, and some cases were severe enough to require the sickened children to get breathing treatments at their local hospitals. The reappearance of EV-D68 required some extra preparation for the nursing staffs at the Get Well Place, the on-site clinic and back-up care center attached to early-education franchise Rainbow Station. But the brand and its Get Well Places were ready to not only treat any possible cases of the severe flu but also to give parents peace of mind with answers to questions about EV-D68. “Enteroviruses are fairly common and infect about 10 million to 15 million children annually in the United States, but EV-D68 occurs rarely,” said registered nurse Loraine Hughes, the supervisor of Get Well Place with Rainbow Station in Richmond, Va. “Infection with this virus occurs primarily in the late summer and early fall, with September being the peak month of infection corresponding to children going back to school.” For parents, knowing that there was a registered nurse like Hughes is on hand to treat their children was extremely important during the height of EV-D68’s heightened publicity, Hughes said. “This virus primarily causes respiratory illness, with symptoms ranging from that of a ‘bad cold’ to symptoms of pneumonia,” she said. “Many children have been hospitalized with this virus already, and in some areas of the country as many as 10 percent to 15 percent of children admitted to the hospital have required intensive care.” Hughes noted that children have been infected mostly throughout the Midwest. Experts believe that this virus can spread to many more states. Since there is no vaccine or specific treatment for Enterovirus 68, knowing how to combat it before it starts is key. For students at Rainbow Station, the advantage of having a registered nurse on site helped foster awareness and prevention of the flu, Hughes said. She noted that the best practices to preventing the illness for students are washing hands frequently throughout the day, avoiding contact with infected people, covering the mouth when coughing and frequently disinfecting surfaces that many people touch. If a parent or child feels ill or a bug coming on, Hughes plainly advised them to “stay home,” noting that the virus spreads more easily in crowed environments like classrooms.