It’s the start of cold and flu season, when viruses like influenza, RSV and COVID-19 spread rapidly as colder temperatures push people to congregate indoors. But a virus currently surging in the Bay Area is one many people may not be aware of: enterovirus D68.
Data from Stanford University’s wastewater monitoring program show high levels of enterovirus D68 in San Jose and parts of San Francisco. This RNA respiratory virus is known to cause respiratory, gastrointestinal and in some rare cases neurological symptoms, including meningitis and polio-like muscle weakness.
But the spike isn’t unusual. A mix of enteroviruses is known to spread every year, primarily in the late summer and early fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…