The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a health advisory, asking clinicians and public health departments to be on the lookout for infants with parechovirus infections. This follows reports of infections in newborns and young infants in multiple states.
Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a Mayo Clinic pediatric infectious diseases expert, says while some people may just be hearing about parechovirus, they are a group of viruses that are fairly common in childhood.
"Most children, by the time they enter kindergarten, have actually been infected with this virus," says Dr. Rajapakse. "It typically causes pretty mild symptoms, so you might not ever really know."
