JACKSONVILLE, Fl – Doctors across this country are seeing a rise in Enterovirus over the last few weeks.
The virus has left some hospitalized, and has even been found in for children that recently died, although doctors don't know yet what role the virus played in those deaths.
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Through Friday, the Centers for Disease Control hey documented 538 cases across 43 states this year. That might not seem like much, but that number is way up over previous years.
The good news is that Florida is not one of the 43 states where the virus has been found.
The virus, which mostly affects children, has symptoms similar to a cold. Fever, sneezing, runny nose. But some of those affected have seen much more severe symptoms including paralysis like symptoms similar to polio.
"One of the things that is most disturbing is that in some states that we are starting to see neurological components as a result of this, which is really alarming," said Dr. Kelli Wells, head of the Duval County Health Department.
"It causes us to really try to engage parents and members of the community about prevention measures."
Dr. Wells says that right now there is no real treatment for this virus. She says that parents need to take the usual precautions to make sure their kids don't get sick.
Those include washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, cleaning and sanitizing frequently touched things around the house, keep children home from school if they appear to be getting sick.
"We are recognizing that children who have asthma or other respiratory illness history are starting to see more severe symptoms," Dr. Wells said.
The CDC says that this virus is most commonly found in the late summer months from August through October. But because this strain of the virus seem so much more aggressive than previous strains of it, they say October might not necessarily be the end of when we see people contracting the virus.
"I think that it is that we are seeing more severe illness. So we are looking for it," Dr. Wells said.
Even though Florida so far has not seen any cases of this virus, doctors are keeping a close eye on children who come in sick, to make sure that what they have is not Enterovirus.