The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) said children with asthma and those with other types of lung diseases are more at risk of developing complications when struck by the rare virus that has downed hundreds of children in the United States.

Assistant surgeon general and NCIRD Director Anne Schuchat said at a news conference that while symptoms of of Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) are similar to an intense cold, children with asthma may develop other complications that would require taking them to hospitals.

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EV-D68 has infected hundreds of children in the U.S., especially in Kansas City, Missouri and Chicago although no deaths have been reported so far. National health authorities are also checking reported cases in other states, including Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, Kansas, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and Iowa.

The NCIRD said children aged 6 weeks to 16 years are particularly at risk of getting infected with the EV-D68 virus.

While it was considered a mystery virus early this week, health officials said EV-D68 first surfaced in 1962 in California but the cases of infection were rare. From 2009 to 2013, only 79 cases were reported in the U.S.

Current monitoring could not exactly determine how many children are infected by the strain of EV-D68 because there are those who have runny noses that did not have the strain.

Schuchat said during the news conference at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the full danger of the EV-D68 virus has not been fully established although earlier studies showed it is linked to with respiratory illnesses.

And since the virus is similar to colds, health officials suggest taking similar precautions such as washing hands thoroughly and avoiding sharing kitchen utensils with those who have symptoms of the virus.

And as with colds, those who are infected must stay at home and take a rest.

TagsMystery Virus, EV-D68