CDC issues warning about virus that can cause paralysis in children

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — FOX13 has a health warning for parents and children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is alerting doctors of an increase in cases of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) that can lead to paralysis in kids.

Doctors say it’s a virus that can cause an infection similar to the common cold. But, in some cases, it can cause serious breathing problems and may be linked to more cases of a rare, paralyzing condition that affects the spinal cord.

“All the lessons we’ve learned in the past couple years, I think will apply to this as well,” Maddie Willams of Memphis said.

As a mom of three kids who works in healthcare, Williams isn’t surprised to hear a respiratory virus in children is on the rise.

“All the funk that kids bring home seems pale in comparison to COVID, but it’s all still out there,” she said.

In September, the CDC warned doctors to be on the lookout for infections of enterovirus D68.

Dr. Sandy Arnold, the division chief of pediatric diseases at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, said the virus is nothing new, but infections started to rise this summer after a period of very few cases during the COVID pandemic.

“There seems to be a bi-annual circulation of this virus. So, we seem to have outbreaks every other year. We did not have one in 2020, but we had very little of anything other than COVID in 2020,” she said.

Dr. Arnold said enterovirus D68 typically causes respiratory illness, which can be mild like a cold or more severe.

“If your child is a wheezer or if they have asthma, be aware this can give them difficulty breathing,” she said.

In rare cases, it can also lead to a serious complication called acute flaccid myelitis, which can lead to paralysis.

“If they develop signs of weakness in one leg, both legs, arms, face drooping, difficulty swallowing and talking, they should get medical attention right away,” Dr. Jennifer Snow, the chief medical officer at Baptist Children’s Hospital, said.

Dr. Snow said prevention of the illness is key.

“Teaching our kids to sneeze or cough into a tissue or into a sleeve and not into their hands and certainly keeping kids at home when they are sick,” she said.

Right now, there is not a vaccine for this particular enterovirus.

If you think your child is experiencing any severe respiratory symptoms or has a sudden onset of rapid weakness, you should take them to a doctor right away.

©2022 Imagicomm Memphis, Inc.