US Sees Increase in Respiratory Infections That Can Cause Paralysis in Children

October 5, 2022 by TWN Staff
US Sees Increase in Respiratory Infections That Can Cause Paralysis in Children
(Photo by Torsten Dederichs via UnSplash)

ATLANTA — Doctors should be on the lookout for a possible increase in enterovirus D68, a respiratory infection that may be linked to more cases of the rare, paralyzing condition acute flaccid myelitis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week.

The CDC has detected increases in enterovirus D68 every two years or so, and saw its latest spike in infections this past summer.

Enterovirus D68 causes symptoms that mirror those of common colds, with cough, shortness of breath, wheezing and sometimes fever. It requires doctors to take extra steps to diagnose. The virus tends to peak in the late summer and early fall.

“Health care facilities should be prepared for possible increases in pediatric health care use associated with severe EV-D68-associated respiratory illness,” the CDC said Tuesday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “Past increases in EV-D68 circulation were also associated with increased reports of AFM.”

In addition to testing for AFM, health care providers are urged to test for poliovirus in people suspected of having AFM because of the similarity in symptoms.

A+
a-
  • children
  • doctors
  • health
  • respiratory infections
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Health

    April 25, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Kennedy Unveils Plan to Expand Access to Sickle Cell Treatment

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used a morning keynote address before a group of state lawmakers... Read More

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used a morning keynote address before a group of state lawmakers in Charleston, South Carolina, to unveil a new initiative intended to expand access to the latest treatments for sickle cell disease. Kennedy offered few details in... Read More

    Whooping Cough Cases Rising Again in the US

    Whooping cough cases are rising, and doctors are bracing for yet another tough year. There have been 8,485 cases reported in... Read More

    Whooping cough cases are rising, and doctors are bracing for yet another tough year. There have been 8,485 cases reported in 2025, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s twice as many cases as this time last year, based on the... Read More

    Bluebells and Other Spring Flowers Can Be Nature's Antidote to Stressful Times

    HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple bluebells that raise their heads each spring under... Read More

    HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple bluebells that raise their heads each spring under the budding beech leaves of the Hallerbos forest, an annual explosion of color that draws crowds from around the world. And in these times full of stress... Read More

    EPA Chief Demands That Mexico Stop Tijuana Sewage From Flowing Into California

    SAN DIEGO (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Mexico must stop the flow of billions of... Read More

    SAN DIEGO (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Mexico must stop the flow of billions of gallons of sewage and toxic chemicals from Tijuana that has polluted the Pacific Ocean off neighboring Southern California, closing beaches and sickening Navy SEALs who train... Read More

    April 22, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    FDA to Phase Out Petroleum-Based Dyes in Foods

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it plans to end the use of petroleum-based synthetic food... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it plans to end the use of petroleum-based synthetic food dyes in America’s food supply within the next two years in a bid to combat a myriad of health concerns, especially among children. The policy was... Read More

    Advanced Cancers Returned to Prepandemic Levels, According to Report

    Many Americans were forced to postpone cancer screenings — colonoscopies, mammograms and lung scans — for several months in 2020 as COVID-19... Read More

    Many Americans were forced to postpone cancer screenings — colonoscopies, mammograms and lung scans — for several months in 2020 as COVID-19 overwhelmed doctors and hospitals. But that delay in screening isn't making a huge impact on cancer statistics, at least none that can be seen yet by... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top