382 EV-D68 detections in respiratory specimens from patients <18 in 2018, number dropped to six in 2019, 30 in 2020<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) detections were lower than anticipated in 2020, according to research published in the Nov. 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report<\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n Noting that the number of EV-D68 detections followed a biennial pattern during 2014 to 2018 in the United States, Melisa M. Shah, M.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues assessed recent levels of EV-D68. EV-D68 detections in respiratory specimens collected from patients aged <18 years with acute respiratory illness (ARI) evaluated within the New Vaccine Surveillance Network were summarized. Provisional descriptions of EV-D68 detections during July to November 2018, 2019, and 2020 were provided and the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were described.<\/p>\n The researchers note that 382 EV-D68 detections in respiratory specimens from patients aged <18 years were reported in 2018; this number decreased to six and 30 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In 2020, 73 percent of the patients with EV-D68 were non-Hispanic Black.<\/p>\n “Circulation of EV-D68 in 2020 might have been limited by widespread COVID-19 mitigation measures, and changing mitigation measures might influence future EV-D68 circulation patterns,” the authors write. “Continued monitoring of EV-D68 circulation is critical to guiding clinical and public health preparedness for both EV-D68-associated ARI and acute flaccid myelitis.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. <\/p>\n