PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — State health officials say a 10-year-old Rhode Island girl has died from complications of an unusual respiratory virus that has been affecting children across the U.S.
The Rhode Island Health Department announced Wednesday that the child died last week of a staph infection associated with enterovirus 68, which it called “a very rare combination.”
Health Director Michael Fine says the girl was from Cumberland and was taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence when her parents noticed she was having trouble breathing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus has been confirmed in 472 people in 41 states and the District of Columbia. So far, no deaths have been attributed to the virus.
The virus can cause mild to severe illness. The strain isn’t new but it’s rarely seen.
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