Virus that can cause polio-like illness in small children is spreading in California

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A respiratory virus that in rare instances can lead to polio-like illness in small children is currently on the rise in California.

Concentrations of enterovirus D68 are high and continuing to rise in the Bay Area, including Palo Alto, Napa, Southeast San Francisco and San Rafael, SFGate reported, citing data from WastewaterSCAN, which monitors traces of viruses in municipal wastewater.

EV-D68, one of the more than 100 non-polio enteroviruses, typically spreads in late summer and early fall. Common symptoms resemble the common cold, including cough, shortness of breath and wheezing.

Children with EV-D68 may also have fever or develop more serious symptoms like difficulty breathing or pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In some rare instances, EV-D68 can also cause acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, which is an uncommon but dangerous neurological condition that mainly affects children. Symptoms of AFM will start to appear several weeks after an EV-D68 infection.

Symptoms of AFM can include arm or leg weakness, loss of muscle tone and reflexes, pain in the neck, back, arms or legs, difficulty swallowing or slurred speech, difficulty moving the eyes and facial droop or weakness.

Older adults, small children and those who are immunocompromised are at the greatest risk of developing severe illness if they contract EV-D68, Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, told SFGate.

Even though the majority of respiratory illnesses are mild for healthy individuals, they can still be “severe for certain risk groups,” Gandhi noted.

There is no vaccine for EV-D68, but people can protect themselves from it by frequently washing their hands and avoiding contact with people who are sick. Amid the rise in EV-D68 cases, Bay Area residents are also being encouraged to receive updated flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines this fall, according to the report.

The rise in cases comes as San Francisco’s Department of Public Health announced the first flu-related death of the season on October 1.

“This sad news reminds us that respiratory viruses such as flu and COVID should be taken very seriously, especially for people who are at higher risk of getting sick,” San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said with the announcement.

“With fall festivities approaching, we want people to stay healthy and do all the fun and joyful things they want to do. Vaccines help make this happen.”