Washington - An unusual respiratory virus has
sickened more than 400 children across the United
States, and the emergence of sudden paralysis in
some Colorado youths is sparking concern among
doctors.
The nationwide outbreak of enterovirus D68 -
which can cause wheezing and coughing -
coincided with the hospitalisation of nine children
due to limb weakness in Colorado since early
August, and officials are investigating if there is
any link between the two.
The nine children in Colorado "had respiratory
illness and later developed neurologic illness," the
US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said
on Monday.
In the meantime, experts are struggling to
understand why so many young people - ranging in
age from one to 18 - have fallen ill from the virus
in the past two months. "It is concerning," said Robert Glatter, an
emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill
Hospital in New York.
"It is not clear why, given the widespread nature
of this virus, at this point it is now showing some
neurological symptoms in a very small portion of
patients," he told AFP.
"The investigation is ongoing to find if there is a
link."
Eight of the nine children afflicted with paralysis
are up to date on their polio vaccines.
Some are reported to be improving, and it remains
unclear whether or not their paralysis will be
permanent.
Can infect nervous system
Some enteroviruses, including D68, have been
shown in rare cases in the past to be capable of
causing neurologic symptoms and sudden muscle
weakness.
"The virus can infect the central nervous system,
causing injury to some of the cells and the spinal
cord, and that is what actually leads to the
paralysis," said Glatter.
The emergence of paralysis cases, so far only in
Colorado, suggests "it is possible that the virus may
be mutating," he added.
"It is not clear why some children are affected and
others aren't at this point. So it is an ongoing
puzzle that we are hoping to solve in the near
future," said Glatter. Meanwhile, the outbreak is expanding fast. Earlier
this month, the CDC said about a dozen states had
reported cases. By the end of September, 40 states
were implicated.
Enterovirus D68 is not new. It was first discovered
in 1962, but has remained fairly uncommon, experts
say.
About two dozen child paralysis cases were
reported in California last year, though experts have
not established any connections between the
outbreaks.
Viruses in this family typically circulate in the late
summer to early fall, before flu season begins in
earnest.
Hand-washing
If the seasons start to overlap, experts say the
potential for dual infections could be particularly
dangerous for children with asthma.
"Hopefully as the weather gets colder that will help
the epidemic subside," said Roberto Posada, a
pediatric infectious disease expert at the Kravis
Children's Hospital at Mount Sinai in New York.
"I think the best advice for parents in terms of
preventing infection is always hand-washing, hand-
washing, hand-washing."
In the meantime, doctors are urging parents to
keep a close eye on their children, and seek urgent
medical care if they show difficulty breathing -
even if they do not have a high temperature.
"About a third of kids do not have fever," said
Glatter.
If parents see "wheezing and weakness, numbness,
tingling with respiratory symptoms and congestion
they need to go the hospital immediately. This is not
a time to delay."
- AFP

With the simultaneous eruption of all these deadly diseases at close to the same time, and all over the globe, one cannot help but wonder if there might be any truth to the rumor that test-tubes of deadly disease-causing microbes are bring deliberately released into urban populations worldwide, by suicide operatives of some shadowy terrorist organization.

May God Help us