The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning to parents of newborns about a potentially lethal virus that has been discovered in numerous states throughout the country.
The CDC issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory for parechovirus this week after one child died from the virus.
While parechovirus is a common virus that produces upper respiratory tract infection, fever, and rash, it can produce serious sickness in newborns under the age of 3 months.
The CDC is urging clinicians to explore the virus as a possible cause of fever, sepsis-like symptoms, seizures, and meningitis in newborns who have no other obvious explanation.
Fever, shortness of breath, sweating, and intense discomfort are all signs of sepsis.
Parechovirus spreads by saliva, respiratory droplets, and fecal particles that end up in the mouth, according to the CDC.
Because the CDC does not have a national surveillance program for the virus, it is unclear whether the rate of parechovirus is greater this year.
