Paralysis of more than 100 children could be EV-D68, CDC says
Researchers have discovered a leading suspect for what may have caused the paralysis of more than 100 children in the United States since August 2014-but definitive evidence eludes them.
Since August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted more than 1,100 confirmed EV-D68 cases nationwide, almost all among children, many who had a history of asthma. It's possible that millions of kids with milder symptoms also became ill.
The study, published in The Lancet, highlights the potential link between EV-D68, which caused 1000's of cases of respiratory illness in the USA in 2014, and very severe neurological illness in children. EV-D68 had already been a suspect because in a previous study, the virus was found in nasal swabs from 8 out of 41 paralysis patients tested, according to Nature.
"Due to global poliovirus eradication efforts, clusters of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP; a condition that leaves one or more limbs unresponsive) in children have become rare. These 12 new cases raise the possibility that EV-D68 may be emerging amongst a short list of other viruses, (eg, enterovirus 71 and West Nile Virus) that are linked to outbreaks of AFP among children in regions where polioviruses are no longer circulating such as North America, Asia, and Europe," explains Dr Kevin Messacar, lead author and a paediatric infectious diseases physician and researcher at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado, USA.
The virus can be spread through contact with respiratory secretions-when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or touches a surface that is then touched by others.
The preventative measures CDC recommends include frequent hand-washing; avoiding close contact, such as hugging, with ill people; avoiding touching your eyes, mouth, and nose.
