There is a disturbing new development in the epidemic of enterovirus D-68 sweeping the nation. Children are the primary victims and until recently, breathing problems were the only apparent serious complication.
Now, physicians are concerned about cases of muscle weakness and paralysis that have developed in some infected children. Other symptoms include difficulty swallowing or walking, limb weakness or weakness in the neck or trunk.
These cases appear similar to the neurological damage caused by polio, but the children have not been infected with the polio virus. Over the last couple of years, there have been isolated cases of paralysis in children following respiratory tract infections.
Some researchers now suspect that EV-D68 may be the common denominator. Enterovirus is related to the polio virus, but there is no vaccine to prevent enterovirus infection.
