No confirmed Enterovirus cases in Oregon yet

Enterovirus D68 is spreading quickly across the nation. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed 277 cases in 40 states, but Oregon is still not part of that list.

Experts say they are very confident that the virus is already present in Oregon but they are still awaiting the test results from the CDC, which could take until next week.

“We do believe we’ve seen some cases here and we’re waiting for confirmatory testing,” said Dr. Rebecca Sherer, who works in infection prevention at St. Charles Bend.

The respiratory virus, which especially affects children with underlying health conditions like asthma, has many parents on the High Desert worried.

“It was very concerning,” Victoria Johnson, of Bend, said. Johnson has two young children with asthma. “It was frightening when they showed the pictures with the kids on ventilators on the news.”

Johnson asked school officials how they were preparing for the virus and when she got little information from them, she took matters into her own hands.

“We felt it was a good idea to just stay home for a few days and see where the virus was going to go here,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she and other parents are concerned, especially about how well prepared schools are.

“So that was concerning that someone would be paying attention and would not be aware of the symptoms enough to make fast actions,” Johnson said.

Jualianne Repman, director of communication and Safety at the Bend-La Pine school district, said that they have been in close communication with Deschutes County Public Health.

Health officials say for most children the symptoms will be nothing more than a common cold. They also say prevention methods are similar to those against the flu. Children should wash their hands frequently, cover their coughs and not touch their faces.

After speaking to school officials, Johnson is sending her children back to school on Monday.

“We feel pretty comfortable heading back to school at this point and paying close attention if our kids do get sick. If there’s any sort of breathing complications or wheezing, we’ll be seeking medical attention quickly,” Johnson said.