Hello!

14 Comments

The virus which has hospitalised more than 100 Australian babies since 2013 could cause developmental problems and brain damage.

Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) president, Professor Cheryle Jones, says Australia experienced a “very large” outbreak of the parechovirus in late 2013 and early 2014, mainly in Sydney, and a “mild resurgence” at the end of last year in NSW and Queensland.

“In that outbreak in 2013, we had over 100 babies admitted in NSW alone. They were the severe cases, we don’t know how many mild cases there are and we don’t know how many were affected in the 2015 outbreak,” Prof Jones told news.com.au.

“The babies affected had a high fever, a rash and were often irritable and were admitted to hospital. The children we studied who had brain infections also had the virus in their spinal fluid,” she said.

It’s spread from person to person by direct contact respiratory droplets, saliva or faeces from an infected person. There is no vaccine.

“We need to do a big study of these children once they’re aged three to five, to really understand the long-term consequences and future research into ways to prevent the infection,” she said.

According to NSW Health, good hygiene is the best protection against the virus.

“Wash hands with soap and water after going to the toilet, before eating, after wiping noses, and after changing nappies or soiled clothing,” the department advises in a parechovirus fact sheet.

“Ensure the mouth and nose are covered when coughing and sneezing. Wipe the nose and mouth with tissues, dispose of used tissues and then wash your hands.

“People who are unwell with colds, flu-like illness or gastro illness should stay away from small babies. If you are caring for a small baby and are unwell, wash your hands or use an alcohol-based hand rub before touching or feeding the baby.”

What are the symptoms? via NSW Health

Human parechoviruses usually causes mild respiratory or gastrointestinal illness. Some strains can cause more severe illness, particularly in young children. Good hygiene is vital to protect against parechoviruses.

Infection with some strains can, rarely, lead to more severe blood infection (sepsis) and neurological infection (meningitis or encephalitis), particularly among young children.

Children under 3 months of age are most likely to develop severe disease – and babies can become unwell very quickly – but most recover after a few days with supportive treatment.

There is no vaccine to protect you from parechovirus infection.

There is no specific treatment for parechovirus; treatment is supportive only.

Share your comments below.

Image – stock photo

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • This is just horrific. I hope they fine a vaccine

    Reply

  • This is so scary. Hopefully a vaccine is found soon.

    Reply

  • Awful. Another stress to add to parents of young babies.

    Reply

  • This is indeed very scary. And knowing that there is no vaccine, makes it even scarier!

    Reply

  • That is very scary as there is no treatment yet and so easy to get it. How to protect a newborn with a sibling toddler that are in contact with a lot of other toddlers?

    Reply

  • Very scary, as it’s so easy to pass on.

    Reply

  • Wow how scary is this virus

    Reply

  • Very scarey. I hope they hurry and produce a vaccine

    Reply

  • This is yet another scary thing for mums to worry about. Hopefully a vaccine can be developed, particularly if the incidence rate continues to increase.

    Reply

  • I’ve never even heard of this before, sounds like a scarey thing to catch. A good reason to keep newborns away from a lot of people until they are vaccinated and a few months old, let them build up their immune system

    Reply

  • There are some truly frightening and terrible illnesses around now. Here is hoping a vaccine is found shortly, and that the lasting effects of this virus is minimal for the babies involved.

    Reply

  • oh what a terrible thing for a child to have – I hope one day medical research can find an answer and a vaccine for this :(

    Reply

  • Another good reason to limit going out with your newborn. I’ve never understood these women who have had their baby (sometime a few hours earlier) and bringing them to their older siblings school at pick up time. Then passing them around like a pass the parcel. I was so protective of my bubs, I didn’t take them anywhere, not school pick up, not the supermarket and even held visitors off for the first few months. Let their little immune systems have a chance to get strong first.

    Reply

  • So scary, I’d never heared of it before.

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join