A student at a Shelton elementary school is being treated for enterovirus, a rare respiratory infection, the school district announced Tuesday.
“A documented case of Enterovirus has been identified at Sunnyside Elementary School,” the school district said in an announcement on its website.
Doingitlocal.com reported a Shelton student had been affected by the respiratory illness early Tuesday.
The school district said the student is currently being treated at a hospital and under observation.
Shelton Schools Superintendent Freeman Burr said Tuesday afternoon that the first-grade student was hospitalized over the weekend and has since been showing signs of improvement.
He said school officials learned of the student’s diagnosis late Monday.
He advised parents to keep children out of school if they’re sick.
“The classroom and areas within the school are being sanitized and classmates monitored,” the district’s announcement said.
“Obviously we’re putting some extra custodial and maintenance staff there for cleaning and disinfecting the common areas and the classrooms the student would have come in contact with,” Burr said.
A letter Burr sent to parents Tuesday is posted below.
The state’s Department of Public Health reported the first case of the virus in Connecticut last month.
The public health department did not identify a location in that case.
Burr said Tuesday a child attending St. Joseph School, a local parochial school, was diagnosed with pertussis, or whooping cough, last month, so public school officials sent letters to parents advising them of the case.
William Gerrish, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Public Health, said in an e‑mail Tuesday that a total of 23 laboratory-confirmed cases of enterovirus D68 have been reported statewide since last month.
He said the DPH couldn’t provide a geographical breakdown of where the cases occurred “due to disclosure/confidentiality laws,” nor could he say whether a confirmed case had been reported in Shelton.
“While influenza activity has been increasing since September, enterovirus activity now appears to be decreasing in Connecticut and most areas of the county,” he added.
Gerrish said children six months or older should get flu shots annually, and said the best defense from respiratory illnesses like enterovirus and the flu is good hand hygiene.
Some preventative steps people should take include:
- Washing hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after changing diapers;
- Avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;
- Avoiding kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick;
- Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.
Click here for a discussion on the infection, which is a particular threat for kids with asthma, from News Hour on PBS.
The school district also shared the following links with information on enterovirus:
http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/EV-D68.html?s_cid=cdc_homepage_whatsnew_001
http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/prevention-treatment.html
http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/EV68-infographic.html
Note: A previous version of this story said a case of enterovirus had been reported last month at Shelton’s St. Joseph School, based on information provided by Shelton’s schools superintendent. The student was diagnosed with pertussis, or whooping cough, not enterovirus.
