TAKE NOTE
Five warning signs that every parent must know as illness sweeping the US has already killed two babies
PARENTS are urged to be on the lookout for five warning signs as an illness affecting newborns is sweeping the United States.
This illness known as Human Parechovirus has already killed two babies and left others sick, according to their families and the CDC.
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Parechovirus is said to cause seizures, fever, delirium, and other additional sepsis-like symptoms in newborns.
The deaths of Ronan DeLacy and Waylon Hood, who were both just over a month old, caused the CDC to release a warning.
The agency said it “received reports from healthcare providers in multiple states of PeV infections in neonates and young infants.”
Ronan's mom Kat DeLancy told The US Sun that parents should look beyond the common fever for other symptoms.
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DeLancy said that baby Ronan’s initial symptoms were a refusal to eat, irritability, and redness on his chest, but not necessarily a fever, despite the CDC information.
“If we are looking for a fever to be a diagnostic marker, several children will be overlooked and it will delay care," she said.
“Something that I want stressed is that Ronan never had a fever. I’ve spoken with several other parents of children who have had children suffer with this virus who said the same."
Waylon's mom Maddison Hood told The Sun that her son’s body temperature was lower than normal as well, so low that he had to be put in a warm blanket.
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“As soon as he was placed on the blanket, he stopped breathing so they intubated him and did a CT and a spinal tap,” Hood said.
Both Ronan and Waylon suffered from seizures and significant brain damage due to the virus.
Learning from Ronan and Waylon's story, remember these five warning signs:
- Irritability
- Redness
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty breathing
- Seizures
Parents should also be warned that the virus is especially dangerous for babies under three months old and that the type of virus currently spreading is the most severe, reported.
The CDC noted that there's no treatment for PeV though diagnosing it could help in developing management strategies and provide important health information for families.
One preventative measure includes avoiding increased exposure to people when your newborn is in the hospital.
However, DeLancy stressed that exposure seems more likely to have happened at the hospital in her opinion.
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“The advice doctors have been giving is ‘keep newborns away from sick people’ which should be obvious, and we did that,” DeLancy told The US Sun.
“He had been exposed to MANY more people (only hospital staff) while he was in the hospital when he was born and it’s possible that is where many of these children are picking up the virus.”
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