During the past few weeks, an enterovirus called D68 has spread quickly from the Midwest to the Northeast, with the first case in New Jersey confirmed this month.

It is one of many enteroviruses, which includes coxsackie, a virus that parents may be more familiar with. Although anyone can become ill, children, infants and teenagers are most at risk to contract enterovirus D68, and children with asthma seem to have a higher risk for severe respiratory illness with this virus.

Amisha Malhotra, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, explains the symptoms of enterovirus D68, why children are more susceptible and which children are at risk for developing more serious illness. Melvin Weinstein, chief of infectious disease at the medical school and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, also provides guidance for adults who are at risk due to immune or respiratory disorders.