1K infected with virulent virus that starts out like common cold
More than a thousand people in four states have been infected with a virulent virus whose symptoms start out like a common cold but sometimes end in death, according to The Washington Post.
The paper says at least 10 people have been killed by a variant of the strain known as adenovirus 14.
"Health officials say the virus does not seem to be causing life-threatening illness on a wide scale, and most people who develop colds or flulike symptoms are at little or no risk," the Post reports. "Likewise, most people infected by the suspect adenovirus do not appear to become seriously ill. But the germ appears to be spreading, and investigators are unsure how much of a threat it poses."
The paper says infections have been reported in Texas, Washington, South Carolina and New York. Last month, a Los Angeles Times report said that 106 soldiers contracted the virus at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. One died, the paper says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a recent research report: showed that Ad14 is a rarely reported but emerging serotype of adenovirus that can cause severe and sometimes fatal respiratory disease in people of all ages, including healthy young adults. However, Ad 14 infections are uncommon. Most infections from Ad14 are not serious, and severe or fatal outcomes from Ad14 are rare. Thus, the public should not be concerned about the emergence of Ad14.