Severe Cold Virus takes its Toll

An uncommon strain of the cold virus is spreading throughout the United States, causing severe and even fatal respiratory illness in people of all ages. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that between March and June of 2007, there have been 140 confirmed cases of the virus, called adenovirus type 14, in three states alone. 38% of those diagnosed with the virus had to be hospitalized, and 10 people have died from it since May of last year. Medical News Today reports that over 100 cases of Ad14 were found within 423 cases of respiratory illness in Texas among military trainees at Lackland Air Force Base (LAFB).

The CDC suggests that this is a new strain of an old virus, originally identified in the 1950s and cause of a range of conditions from conjunctivitis to upper respiratory illness and gastrointestinal disease. The CDC also warns that state and local health professionals should be alert to the possibility that this virus will cause further outbreaks.