Enterovirus D68
(asked on 17th October 2016) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of Enterovirus D-68; and what steps it is taking to prevent the spread of that virus.
Public Health England (PHE) is aware that Enterovirus D-68 (EV-D68) is circulating in the United Kingdom and numbers of infections are in line with what we would expect to see at this time of year. EV-D68 can cause mild to severe respiratory illness requiring ventilatory support and has in some rare instances been associated with cases and clusters of neurological symptoms including paralysis.
The risk assessment notes that EV-D68 is likely to be circulating in the community in the UK undetected. The risks, however, of unexplained neurological symptoms due to EV-D68 in the UK are considered to be very low. PHE’s risk assessment of EV-D68 can be found at:
Though there is no specific vaccine or treatment for EV-D68, clinical and public health management is similar to that of other acute respiratory infections, or unexplained neurological illness. Practicing good hand hygiene is important to stop the spread of the virus. This reflects advice being given to the public at this time of year to protect from a number of different infections, for example seasonal flu.