The new virus causes paralysis in children

Scientists believe that a virus similar to polio virus causes many paralysis in children with unknown causes in the United States.

The "culprit" of paralysis in children is a new virus

This disease is caused by the virus through the stomach enterovirus C105 , which is a form of polio and has just been discovered. According to scientific researchers, it is the "culprit" that more than 100 children across 34 US states suddenly develop acute spinal polio - with signs of muscle weakness or paralysis.

Previously, researchers believed that the cause of elietej status was due to a virus called enterovirus D68 (EV-D68). But after testing, only about one in five children with paralysis had positive results for enterovirus D68 virus . This makes researchers question whether this is the only virus that causes disease?

Picture 1 of The new virus causes paralysis in children
Researchers believe that the cause of this condition may not be due to enterovirus D68.

In the new study, the researchers sequenced a 6-year-old girl with paralysis with enterovirus C105 . Although it has not been convincingly proven that the virus is similar to polio virus causing this condition, it may be different from EV-D68 and it may contribute to the outbreak of the disease.

The co-author of the study, Professor Ronald Turner, of the Virginia School of Medicine University, said: "The findings mean that people should be aware that there is a virus of the same species as the polio virus and they are We need to prevent them. "

Sharing with LiveScience, he said: "We should not rush to conclude enterovirus D68 as the only cause of ongoing paralysis cases."

The 6-year-old girl was paralyzed after a cold and a mild fever. When the symptoms of the cold disappeared, she only felt pain in her arm. After that, her arms fell and she had difficulty controlling her right hand. She was diagnosed with acute myelitis , but was negative for EV-D68.

Picture 2 of The new virus causes paralysis in children
The 6-year-old girl was paralyzed after a cold and a mild fever.

However, a test from her respiratory tract that was positive for the virus was found similar to the polio virus enterovirus C105.

Dr. Turner said that some tests may be difficult to detect enterovirus C105 , due to changes in its genetic structure. And that may be the reason that until now it has just been discovered.

People may have this virus in the respiratory tract without affecting the nervous system, he explained.

To know the exact link between paralysis in patients with enterovirus, the researcher will need to find the virus in the cerebrospinal fluid , he concluded.

This study will be published in the October issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.