Mystery of the virus paralysing children in the US: Rare bug related to polio may have caused more than 100 unexplained cases

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Mystery of the virus paralysing children in the US: Rare bug related to polio may have caused more than 100 unexplained cases

Clusters of acute flaccid paralysis have been springing up around the USA
Scientists have found cases often occur after infections by enterovirus D68
Children infected by the virus were found to have damage to their nerves
Enterovirus D68 was once a rare respiratory virus but cases soared in 2014
The virus is related to the eradicated polio virus that also caused paralysis
There have been 107 cases in the US of mystery paralysis since September
Researchers are attempting to develop new treatments against the virus
By RICHARD GRAY FOR MAILONLINE

Mysterious cases of paralysis in children in the United States may be caused by a previously rare virus spread by sneezing and coughing, according to doctors.

More than 100 children and young adults in the US and one child in France have been taken to hospital with unexplained weakness and paralysis in their limbs, known as acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), since September last year.

A condition, more commonly associated with the polio virus, had been known to cause similar symptoms, but since the virus was eradicated it has become rare.

Enterovirus D68, the structure of which is shown above imposed upon a black and white electron microscope image of the virus, is now the prime suspect in clusters of mysterious limb paralysis in children in the USA

The recent outbreak of AFP has alarmed doctors and they now believe another, unknown virus may be causing the condition.

Researchers found that a cluster of children suffering from ongoing paralysis despite treatment in Aurora, Colorado had also suffered from infections of respiratory viruses within three months of their condition appearing.

The scientists found that almost half the children had been infected by a previously rare virus called enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which is distantly related to polio.
These children were also found to have damage to the neurons in their spinal cord and in their brainstem.

The researchers now believe this virus could be behind 107 other unexplained cases of paralysis that have been reported across the USA and a further case reported in France.
Dr Samuel Dominguez, a microbial epidemiologist at the Children’s Hospital Colorado, who led the research, said: ‘The extent to which this new distinctive neurological disease has spread is unknown, but it does not appear to be isolated to Colorado or the USA.

‘If further investigation confirms the link between EV-D68 and AFP and cranial nerve dysfunction, EV-D68 will be added to the list of non-poliovirus enteroviruses capable of causing severe, potentially irreversible neurological damage, and finding effective antiviral therapies and vaccines will be a priority.’

First identified in California in 1962, it is known to cause mild symptoms of fever, sneezing and runny nose, but was rarely seen.

However, since August 2014 it has been linked to more than 1,000 respiratory infections through out the USA.

The researchers in Colorado, whose findings are published in the Lancet tested 12 children who had been admitted to hospital with unexplained paralysis in their limbs.
They found that eight of the children had suffered from a respiratory viral infection before being affected, five of which were identified as EV-D68…..More Here

 

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