Health officials are concerned over the possible presence of a respiratory virus in the Windsor area.

Eleven pediatric patients were admitted to Windsor Regional Hospital over the weekend suffering from severe respiratory problems.

Hospital leaders have imposed restrictions effective immediately allowing only people 18 years and older at the paediatric unit at the Met Campus.

Exceptions might be made in extraordinary circumstances which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The restrictions are said to be in place to protect the health of paediatric visitors.

Tests are being done to see if a non-polio virus, first identified in California as the enterovirus, may have hit Windsor.

"The last couple of weeks there has been clusters in Kansas City and in Chicago and a number of other states in the Midwest," says Windsor-Essex Medical Officer of Health Dr. Allen Heimann.

But he says the presence of the enterovirus being here is small.

Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough and body and muscle aches.

More severe symptoms include difficulty breathing and wheezing, particularly in children already diagnosed with asthma.

These symptoms are common at this time of year but not as severe. With school back in, officials say there is more potential for contact and that may be why there is an increase in patients showing up at the hospital.

Although not confirmed yet locally, there has been a sudden increase in paediatric patients stateside and some provinces in this country with Non-Polio Enterovirus Infection also known as Enterovirus D68, or EV-D68.

For a fact sheet on the virus please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/ev-d68.html

Health officials remind parents and caregivers to use best practices like:

• if your child, or children are sick do NOT send to school to avoid spreading the illness to others;

• outside of school try to avoid large crowds;

• wash hands and surfaces regularly;

• cover mouth and face when sneezing;

• if child not feeling well with respiratory issues please take to family physician or in an emergency to the emergency department. This is especially applicable to children with previous respiratory issues like asthma.

There is no vaccine for the virus, and children with asthma and under six months of age are more susceptible.

The health unit also notes that there have been no deaths to date during the recent outbreak in the U.S.