Cumberland girl dies from complications of enterovirus

PROVIDENCE — A 10-year-old Rhode Island girl died from complications of an unusual respiratory virus that has been affecting children across the U.S., state health officials said Wednesday.

Emily Otrando was a fifth-grader at the Community School in Cumberland. Her obituary describes a smart little girl who loved animals and reading.

The Rhode Island Health Department said the girl died last week of a staph infection associated with enterovirus D68, which it called "a very rare combination." It's unclear what role the virus played in the death, Health Director Michael Fine said.

"There clearly is a link, but we're not sure what the meaning of the link is," Fine said at a morning news conference.

Fine said the girl was taken to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence when her parents noticed she was having trouble breathing and called 911. He said the situation quickly "became dire" and she died within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital. He said she did not have any previous infections or an underlying disease.

The Cumberland School Department said the Health Department told school officials Wednesday that a student had died of a staph infection associated with the enterovirus D68. The school department it is monitoring the situation.

Parents say they believe the school is safe and that this was an unexplainable tragedy. They're taking what steps they can to protect their children.

"I tell him every day to be careful of everybody who's sick Just be prepared of who's sick and wash your hands after you're done," one parent said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says enterovirus D68 sickened at least 472 people in 41 states and the District of Columbia. Almost all have been children.

Besides the Rhode Island case, federal officials have detected the virus in two other patients who died, but again say the virus's role was unclear. The government released no other details about them.

The virus can cause mild to severe illness, with the worst cases needing life support for breathing difficulties. The strain isn't new but it's rarely seen.

Local doctors said this is the normal time for the virus to show and while they're seeing a surge in cases, they want to let parents know that it's not time to panic.

"This is a virus in which kids get rather sick quickly but they also get better quickly," said Dr. Michael Smit of Rhode Island Hospital.

NBC 10 asked doctors how contagious enterovirus is.

"They don't know exactly how it's spread but based on previous studies, they think it can be spread from contact, from touching hands to mouth, possibly from touching hard surfaces that somebody previously touched and then touched their face, or from person to person with either coughing or sneezing," Smit said.

The Health Department said some of the best ways to avoid enterovirus are to wash hands several times a day and to abstain from kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick.

If fever is present, stay home while sick and for at least one day after the fever is gone, without the use of fever-reducing medicines, the Health Department said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.