Polio-like illness suspected in New York state

Oct. 26--The New York State Department of Health has confirmed there are six suspected cases across New York of a virus that may cause paralysis in children.

Acute flaccid myelitis is a development of the EV-D68 virus, which can cause mild to severe respiratory illness, or no symptoms at all, according to a release from the state health department.

Most commonly, the virus will result in mild symptoms, such as runny nose, sneezing, cough, body aches and muscle aches. Severe symptoms can include wheezing and difficulty breathing. Rare instances will result in acute flaccid myelitis, a serious condition that causes weakness in the arms or legs or even paralysis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, additional symptoms to arm or leg weakness could be facial drooping, difficulty moving the eyes, drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing or slurred speech.

Whether the paralysis is ongoing depends on the patient, the CDC stated, because some have recovered quickly while others required continued care.

The CDC additionally stated the cause for most cases is still unknown, but could be caused by other viruses or environmental toxins. There is also no determination as to who is at the highest risk for developing the disease.

The largest spike of the disease, according to the CDC, occurred in 2016 with 149 confirmed cases. So far in 2018, there have been 62 confirmed cases in 22 states nationwide. Collecting information about patients under investigation for the disease is relatively new, the release stated, and it is voluntary for most states to send this information to the CDC. There may initially be more variability in the data from year to year, making it difficult for the center to interpret or compare case counts between years.

The CDC is actively investigating the recent cases and monitoring the disease's activities, as well as working closely with health care providers and health departments to increase awareness.

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