...[I]t's not certain that the enterovirus is what's causing the paralysis. "There's the association," says Dr. Avindra Nath, clinical director for the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Now the issue is what's the causation."
To find out if the virus is indeed causing the weakness, it would need to be found in the children's spinal fluid, Nath told Shots. So far it's been found only in their noses. Still, "the possibility that this virus may be doing something is certainly worthy of consideration." ...
Enterovirus D68 is itself a bit of a mystery. Until this year EV-D68 only rarely caused illness in the United States. Public health types don't know why it's suddenly making many children ill. Some have developed breathing problems and required hospitalization. Many of those children have asthma or wheezing.
Eight Colorado children diagnosed with paralysis are still having problems with weakness, according to the MMWR report. There is no vaccine or antiviral medication for EV-D68. But if a child does appear to have muscle weakness, it's important to take them to a pediatrician or neurologist right away, Nath says.
