Health officials in British Columbia and Alberta are investigating whether enterovirus D68, which causes respiratory illness, is linked to polio-like symptoms in six young patients.
In B.C., a boy and a male teenager with EV-D68 developed paralytic symptoms that have not improved since they sought hospital care, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control. The two patients are not linked in any way, but both are reporting muscle weakness in one arm.
And health authorities in Alberta said Wednesday that doctors are investigating whether four children with both respiratory and paralytic symptoms are infected with EV-D68.
Enterovirus D68 usually causes symptoms like runny nose and fever, but in extreme cases, it’s been known to cause serious respiratory problems in children. More recently, doctors in the U.S. have reported seeing sporadic cases of paralysis among EV-D68 patients.
Health officials in Colorado are currently investigating 10 children who are suffering muscle weakness and paralysis. However, a definitive link between polio-like symptoms and EV-D68 infections has not been established.
The recent North American outbreak of the virus, which began in early August, has hospitalized several patients in Canada and hundreds in the U.S.
Though the virus has spread to Canada, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said parents shouldn’t panic.
“This is a virus that has actually been around for many decades but it has emerged more substantially this season, particularly with kids going back to school in September,” said Hoskins. “But we’re confident, again, with the measures that we have in place.”
He said parents should be aware of the illness, though, and seek medical attention if their children experience trouble breathing, develop a rash or come down with a high fever.
The U.S. has confirmed the deaths of four infected patients so far, though it’s unclear what role EV-D68 played.
Last week, a 10-year-old Rhode Island girl died of a bacterial infection while infected with the virus.
But with more than 500 cases in the past month, Danuta Skowronski of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control says severe complications are expected to arise in a small proportion of patients.
“You know with any infectious disease, there is a spectrum of illness," she said. "Most enterovirus infections are mild or even asymptomatic, but with other infectious diseases we do see a spectrum of illness and we should expect that also with D68.”
With files from the Canadian Press
