The numbers of cases of uncommon respiratory viruses have been increasing in the U.S. 40 states and the District of Columbia have seen cases of a virus that affects mostly children. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating cases in Colorado that have paralyzed children.
Reuters describes more of the investigation into the 10 children:
Of the 10, four children tested positive for Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a virus that is causing severe respiratory infections in 40 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
From mid-August to September 26, 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or state public health laboratories have confirmed a total of 277 people infected with the virus, according to the CDC website.
Dr. Larry Wolk, chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said some of the children have been ruled out for Enterovirus D68 infection and others are awaiting test results.
All of those experiencing limb weakness have recently been diagnosed with either some form of enterovirus or rhinovirus, two large classes of common viruses that cause respiratory infections. The common cold, for example, is caused by a rhinovirus.
USA Today relays how widespread the virus is:
In the nine cases in Colorado of muscle weakness or paralysis, the virus was detected in four out of eight sick children who had a specific medical test. The status of the ninth test unclear, the Associated Press reports. All nine are being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora.
That hospital has treated more than 2,500 children for severe respiratory illnesses from mid-August to mid-September, with nearly 10% admitted for hospital stays, said Ann-Christine Nyquist, medical director of infection prevention and control at the hospital, in an interview with the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The CDC confirmed 19 of 25 specimens from the hospital tested positive for EV-D68, as of Sept. 15, Nyquist told AAFP.
