NEW YORK — As public health officials struggle to track and contain a respiratory virus that has hospitalized hundreds of children nationwide, there are now concerns that the illness may also cause paralysis in some cases.
In Missouri, doctors are investigating whether Enterovirus D68 caused three children to develop paralysis in their limbs this month, Mary Anne Jackson, director of the division of infectious disease at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, said in a telephone interview. In Colorado, officials are examining nine similar cases of severe muscle weakness and limb paralysis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the virus has been confirmed in all but 10 states, with 277 cases, the actual number is likely much higher, health authorities said. Testing facilities have been overwhelmed with samples and only the sickest are being tested.
“We don’t even have our finger on the pulse of how extensive this is, we have a guess,” said Jackson, whose hospital has treated more than 700 suspected cases and was among the first to report an outbreak of the virus. “We are in a very dynamic period right now.”
The enterovirus is related to the common cold, and this strain has hit children hardest. Most only experience symptoms such as a runny nose, though a small percentage develop trouble breathing and have to be admitted to the intensive care unit.
The possibility of paralysis adds another layer to the mystery around the virus as it has swept the nation, and why it has caused such severe illness in so many children.
The Colorado and Missouri patients showed similar symptoms to other enterovirus patients before developing their paralysis. In Colorado, at least four of the paralyzed children tested positive for EV-D68 through nasal swabs. In Missouri, doctors haven’t been able to confirm the diagnosis with lab testing, and are still testing to find out whether the patients had this strain of enterovirus or another infection, Jackson said.
None of the patients have seen an improvement in their paralysis, which causes extremely weak limbs that couldn’t function normally, she said.
The CDC said that no patients tested positive for the virus in their spinal fluid. The patients also tested negative for polio and West Nile virus.
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