WATCH: More and more cases of the enterovirus are being reported in Canada and the U.S. and some of the children are showing signs of paralysis, but doctors still aren’t sure what’s causing it. Mike Le Couteur reports.
TORONTO – They had muscle weakness and paralysis in their shoulders, arms and hips. These strange symptoms in a handful of U.S. and Canadian kids have doctors baffled.
Doctors ruled out polio in the mysterious illness, but some of the sick kids tested positive for enterovirus D68 – the rare disease that’s spreading through the U.S. and into Canada. Is EV-D68 to blame?
In British Columbia, eight people tested positive for EV-D68, including one child and one young adult with symptoms of paralysis.
READ MORE: B.C. CDC says 2 patients with enterovirus D68 show signs of paralysis
The two cases are several hundred kilometres apart, but B.C. health officials warn that there could be more to come.
The patients are two boys: a child between five and 10 years old who is experiencing weakness in one arm that has not improved for nearly a month, while a teen aged 15 to 20 also developed weakness in one arm and is still on a breathing machine after being hospitalized for about the same period.
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“With the return to school, it is possible there will be an upswing. We’ve not seen that here yet, so we’re monitoring here,” said Danuta Skowronski with the BC Centre for Disease Control.
“Given that the U.S. is more recently confirming some paralysis findings in their patients, it was pertinent to us to share the most recent information from British Columbia.”
In Alberta, four cases of paralysis have been reported in kids battling enterovirus.
“What we’ve been seeing is weakness in a limb or weakness in a face that’s the picture in some of these cases” said Dr. Judy Macdonald.
The children are currently receiving treatment at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
READ MORE: Mysterious illness hospitalizes Calgary children
“We want people to be aware that neurologic findings are a possible severe complication of Enterovirus D-68.”
It started in the U.S. The first group of nine kids were hospitalized between Aug. 9 and Sept. 28 in Colorado. Their motor nerves were weakened, from their shoulders to their hips. Even their facial muscles were affected.
WATCH: Enterovirus now being blamed for four deaths in US
“We don’t know, at this point, if there is any association between the enterovirus EV-D68 that’s circulating and the paralyctic conditions some of the children in Colorado are experiencing,” CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told CNN.
Doctors conducted MRIs and tested the patients’ cerebrospinal fluid. While polio can lead to paralysis in some patients, the doctors said this isn’t the case because the majority of the kids are up to date on their vaccinations.
Listen below: Reporter Carmen Chai talks about enterovirus symptoms.
The kids all reported respiratory illnesses before being hospitalized – the test results turned up negative for enteroviruses, polio and West Nile virus. It was the nasal passages that tested positive for enterovirus in six kids.
Four of the kids tested positive for EV-D68 specifically.
READ MORE: Everything parents need to know about enterovirus symptoms, treatment
By Tuesday, four more children – this time in Boston – showed up in hospital with identical symptoms. They even all reported respiratory sicknesses and serious weakness in at least one of their limbs.
They couldn’t lift their arms or even take steps while walking.
The Boston Children’s Hospital is still waiting on test results. So far, one tested negative for EV-D68.
“We are approaching each patient on a case-by-case basis to work them up thoroughly for causes of their weakness and to determine the appropriate treatment,” Dr. Mark Gorman, of the Boston Children’s Hospital, told CNN.
EV-D68 presents more or less the same way as the common cold. Kids have the exact same symptoms: a runny nose, watery eyes and a cough. Some even have a fever.
What’s key is how the illness progresses, so pay close attention to your child’s symptoms and if they worsen.
READ MORE: Where is enterovirus D68 in Canada?
It happens quickly, too. If your child falls sick with what appears to be a cold, within 12 to 24 hours you could be in hospital if he or she is responding poorly to enterovirus.
It’s no wonder Canadian parents are worried about enterovirus – a rare respiratory illness that’s been making its way across North America.
So far, cases have been confirmed in B.C. and Alberta, with the Public Health Agency of Canada and other provinces on high alert for potential outbreaks.
“Parents are obviously very scared and very nervous. We’ve been trying to impress upon them how important handwashing and other hygiene habits are to prevent spread,” Dr. B. Louise Giles told Global News.
READ MORE: Is enterovirus D68 on Canadian health officials’ radar?
She’s a Canadian doctor and pediatrician at the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. Since mid-August, Giles has been treating kids with the rare virus.
– With files from Heather Yourex, Justin McElroy, and the Canadian Press
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
Follow @Carmen_Chai
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