Increase in Acute Respiratory Illnesses Among Children and Adolescents Associated with Rhinoviruses and Enteroviruses, Including Enterovirus D68 — United States, July–September 2022

CDC MMWR

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) caused biennial outbreaks of severe respiratory illness and acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in the United States in 2014, 2016, and 2018. After an extended period of low EV-D68 circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, surveillance data suggest increased detection of rhinovirus/enterovirus and EV-D68, concurrent with increased emergency department visits by children and adolescents with acute respiratory illness and asthma/reactive airway disease during summer 2022. Clinicians should consider EV-D68 as a possible cause of acute respiratory illness and AFM in children and adolescents this fall and be aware of guidance for prompt testing and referral for patients with suspected AFM.