Human-to-human contagion: CDC warns Enterovirus may break out or cause paralysis
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Human-to-human contagion: CDC warns Enterovirus may break out or cause paralysis
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Human-to-human contagion: CDC warns Enterovirus may break out or cause paralysis…
Recently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning about enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), saying that the number of patients with enterovirus D68 detected in hospitals has increased in the past two months .
The reason you need to be vigilant is because it has almost the same symptoms as the common cold , so it is difficult to judge in the early stages.
And there is currently no effective medicine to cure, and no vaccine !
But the disease , which can spread from person to person , causes Acute Flaccid Myelitis, which puts children at risk of paralysis.
Recent “abnormal” surge in U.S. cases
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently asked pediatricians to watch out for a rare and serious childhood respiratory infection that is likely to be caused by enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) and is transmissible.
And it can then lead to acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), which can lead to weakness or paralysis of the patient’s limbs.
More cases of EV-D68 have been identified in children with severe respiratory illness this year than in the past three years combined , the CDC reported .
From March to August 4, a total of 84 cases were reported.
By comparison, the CDC reported six such cases in 2019, 30 in 2020 and 16 in 2021.
The data was intercepted from the CDC official website.
Before the COVID-19 epidemic, the CDC was able to record the peak of EV-D68 cases every other year, and after the outbreak of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) in 2014, the number of patients peaked in 2016 and 2018.
Neuroscientist Dr. Benjamin Greenberg said, “This pattern of peaks in alternate years is most likely because children develop immunity to enteroviruses when they spread, leading to a ‘shutdown’. Off years have high herd immunity, and once herd immunity declines, the number of cases rises again. ”
The picture shows the number of confirmed cases of AFM released by the CDC.
Dr. Sarah Hopkins, a pediatric neurologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said:
“We’ve always thought that another spike in patients would happen in 2020, because we had the last spike in 2018. However, because of the With mask restrictions, social distancing, and all these measures to limit the spread of respiratory viruses, we’re not seeing the expected spike in patients.”
” This year, EV-D6 8 cases are likely to rise again as children have returned to schools and other public spaces.
This means that there is now a group of children who have never been exposed to the virus, re-exposed to the virus. So we think there are more people at risk now than in 2020 ,” Dr Greenberg added.
All seven pediatric medical centers that are part of the CDC’s new vaccine surveillance network — Nashville, Tennessee, Houston, Kansas City, Missouri, Cincinnati, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Rochester, New York — identified EV-D68 this year case.
Meanwhile, reports of increased severe respiratory illness in children in Minnesota, Arizona and Utah have raised concerns that some of these cases may also be EV-D68.
However, it is also possible that these figures are underestimated, as not every patient with respiratory symptoms was tested for EV-D68.
During the 2014 EV-D68 outbreak in the United States, approximately 10% of EV-D68 patients went on to develop acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) .
The data was intercepted from the CDC official website.
“The increase in cases of EV-D68 respiratory disease usually precedes the increase in AFM cases, suggesting a high likelihood of a surge in acute flaccid myelitis patients in the coming weeks, ” the CDC warned.
Symptoms are similar to the common cold, but can be paralyzing
Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is the most common virus that causes respiratory disease in children, usually with mild symptoms similar to those of the common cold. Symptoms of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) include:
- Runny nose
- Sneeze
- Cough
- Body pain
- Muscle pain
- Respite
- Difficulty breathing, etc.
It is currently difficult to distinguish EV-D68 symptoms from those of respiratory viruses.
The picture shows the symptoms of EV-D68 infection. Image source network, copyright belongs to the original author.
From the perspective of severe infection symptoms, EV-D68 can cause acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) and may be confused with severe polio.
Complete recovery from acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is very rare, and while most patients improve to some extent, the process is often difficult.
Symptoms of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) include:
- Arm or leg weakness
- Neck, back, arm, or leg pain
- Hard to swallow
- Unclear language
- Difficulty moving the eyes
- Sagging eyelids
- Facial sagging
- Facial muscle weakness, etc.
“It’s very important to know and understand which virus is causing the patient’s eventual paralysis,” added neurologist Dr. Benjamin Greenberg .
Polio belongs to a large family of enteroviruses, and both acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) and polioviruses caused by EV-D68 can invade the nervous system and cause muscle weakness or paralysis.
It takes one to four weeks to develop acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) from infection with EV-D68 virus, although not all patients with EV-D68 will have this severe condition. “Symptoms range from mild shoulder weakness to difficulty moving the limbs, sometimes requiring prolonged ventilator support.”
“When a patient recovers from respiratory symptoms, neurological symptoms can follow. The onset can be very sudden, peaking within a few hours , which is a bit surprising.”
Babies, children and teens are most at risk of contracting the virus and getting sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . This is likely because they have not been exposed to the virus before and therefore do not have protective immunity.
Children with asthma appear to be at higher risk for severe respiratory disease. Infants and people with weakened immune systems have a greater chance of complications.
Adults can be infected with EV and are more likely to have no or mild symptoms.
It is usually detected from late summer to fall in the United States and fluctuates year-to-year.
Pictured here is nine-year-old Jayden from Denver being treated at Children’s Hospital in Colorado in 2014.（picture from screenshot)
Can be transmitted closely from person to person
According to the CDC website, enterovirus EV-D68 is spread through close contact with an infected person.
The main modes of transmission are: (similar to the mode of infection of the COVID-19)
- The virus can spread from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes .
- If you touch an object, surface with the virus and then touch your own mouth, nose or eyes to get infected.
- Enteroviruses are also present in feces and can be passed on to others if people do not wash their hands after touching it.
Note: Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is not contagious long after it develops, but severe symptoms involve respiratory failure,
(Screenshot from CDC’s official website)
Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) currently has no specific drug to treat it, and there is also a vaccine for the virus, and antibiotics are also ineffective against the virus.
(Screenshot from CDC’s official website)
Experts say the best is to wash your hands frequently and wear a mask in public:
- Get into the habit of washing your hands often, with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after sneezing, coughing, and going to the toilet.
- Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or utensils with sick people.
- Disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.
- If you or your child is sick, do not go to the office and do not send your child to daycare or school.
The U.S. experienced an enterovirus outbreak
Between mid-August 2014 and January 15, 2015, U.S. public health laboratories identified 1,395 individuals in 49 states and the District of Columbia with respiratory illness caused by EV-D68. Almost all confirmed cases are children .
Additionally, there may be thousands of mild EV-D68 infections where people did not seek medical care and/or get tested.
Between August and December 2014 , there were 120 confirmed cases of AFM in 34 states. These case numbers include only patients younger than 22 years of age.
The picture shows the number of confirmed cases of AFM in 2014 released by the CDC.
According to an August 29, 2014 release from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the EV-D68 outbreak in Kansas City was centered at Children’s Mercy Hospital, which recently treated more than 300 children with respiratory illnesses. On average, 1 in 7 children is treated in an intensive care unit.
At the time, the CDC also tested patient samples from the University of Chicago Medicine Carmer Children’s Hospital, and 11 of the 14 samples tested positive for EV-D68.
According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) at the time, children at the two hospitals who tested positive for EV-D68 were between the ages of 6 weeks and 16 years old, and 70% had a history of asthma or wheezing.
Dr. Mary Anne Jackson, director of the infectious disease department at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, said her hospital was the first to alert the CDC of the unusual increase in children with breathing difficulties. Since then, she has received calls from colleagues across the country seeking guidance. According to reports at the time, the influx of children at the hospital “almost exceeded the hospital’s available resources.”
On three occasions during the month of the pandemic, the University of Chicago Medicine Corner Children’s Hospital had to divert ambulances to other hospitals as emergency rooms were overwhelmed with children with severe respiratory illnesses, many of them large. Most are under 5 years old.
Before the outbreak in 2014, the hospital had not diverted ambulances for 10 years.
Dr. Marian G. Michaels, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, also said the hospital’s emergency department was seeing 50 more children with respiratory illnesses a day than this time of year. to 70.
About 2,600 test samples for enteroviruses were received in 2014 , significantly more than usual, according to final statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .
About 39% of these patients tested positive for EV-D68. About 40% of patients tested positive for enteroviruses or rhinoviruses other than EV-D68.
The data was intercepted from the CDC official website.
Enteroviruses persist in the community, with mixed enteroviruses circulating each year , and different types of enteroviruses may be common in different years, according to the CDC .
Researchers are working to better understand seasonal and annual trends in EV-D68.
In addition, CDC will continue to work with states to test enterovirus specimens to determine virus type, support outbreak identification and investigation, and monitor seasonal activity.
Remind again:
- If you have a child at home with flu symptoms recently
- Please pay more attention
- But don’t panic
- be protected
Human-to-human contagion: CDC warns Enterovirus may break out or cause paralysis
References:
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending/cdc-warns-against-enterovirus-d68-what-is-it-what-are-symptoms/IMTJ7SU7LJAFTNSX3FVMROICHI/
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-warns-enterovirus-d68-muscle-weakness-kids-rcna47362
https://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/ev-d68.html
(source:internet, reference only)
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Important Note: The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice.
