VigiLanz, a digital healthcare technology company headquartered in Minneapolis, has announced that its real-time clinical surveillance and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform is actively working with facilities to add real-time alerts for enterovirus EV-D68.
Enterovirus EV-D68 is a rare virus associated with respiratory illness that has been confirmed to be the cause of symptoms resulting in the hospitalization of children in the Midwest and elsewhere. Ten states have contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for help investigating clusters of the virus that is being blamed for the illness. To date, twelve states may have been impacted.
“The flexible design of VigiLanz's software platform allows us to add new alerts for our clients on demand, for both the less specific types of tests being used and new tests being added, when responding to this emerging concern,” says Stacy Pur, Vice President for Clinical Decision Support. “Real-time alerts enable healthcare professionals to take the protective measures required to prevent spread within their facilities and also to report cases to their public health departments sooner.”
The CDC is guiding healthcare professionals to:
- be aware of EV-D68 as a potential cause of clusters of severe respiratory illness, particularly in young children.
- consider laboratory testing of respiratory specimens for an enterovirus when the cause of infection in severely ill patients is unclear. State health departments or the CDC can be approached for typing enterovirus.
- report cases and clusters of severe respiratory illnesses to state and local health departments for further guidance.
Pur continues, “VigiLanz is committed to supporting healthcare facilities and public health responders in using electronic technology to assist with the rapid identification and control of current and emerging infectious disease concerns.” Learn more about VigiLanz real-time surveillance solutions.
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