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Only one of 103 kids with mystery paralysis recovered

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Melissa Lewis of Denver helps her son, Jayden Broadway, 9, as he coughs in his bed Sept. 8 at the Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora. He was treated for the enterovirus 68 and released, but his asthma made the illness more difficult to fight.(Photo: Cyrus McCrimmon, AP)


Only one of 103 children stricken by a mysterious, polio-like illness has recovered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Doctors have diagnosed children in 34 states with sudden, unexplained weakness or paralysis since August, the CDC says.
In the worst cases, children have developed quadriplegia, becoming completely paralyzed, says Jim Sejvar, a neuroepidemiologist at the CDC. Some children have even experienced paralysis of the muscles they need to breathe, causing them to be put on breathing machines.
About two-thirds of the children, whose average age is 7, have shown some improvement. In general, most of the improvement occurs within the first six months, with less chance for recovery after that, Sejvar says. Most children are left with a lasting disability.
The paralysis cases coincided with an outbreak of severe respiratory illnesses caused by enterovirus D68, a rare member of a large family of viruses that mostly causes mild colds.
Since August, at least 1,153 people in 49 states and Washington, D.C., have developed severe respiratory illnesses linked to enterovirus D68. Most cases have been in children, many of whom had a history of wheezing or asthma, the CDC says. Many have been hospitalized.
Thirteen patients with the enterovirus have died, although doctors can't say for sure that the virus caused their deaths. There have been no deaths among the paralysis cases.
Most paralyzed children had a fever or respiratory illness before developing muscle weakness. Almost all were hospitalized, and 19% were put on breathing machines.
Among the paralyzed children, 76% were previously healthy, the CDC says.
Paralyzed children all had damage to nerve cells in the spine that control movement, Sejvar says. The paralysis set within a matter of hours.
Several viruses can cause this type of sudden paralysis, including polio, Coxsackie virus, adenovirus and West Nile virus, Sejvar says.
About 20% of the children had enterovirus D68 in their nose or throat, the CDC says. Doctors have not found the virus in spinal fluid, however, Sejvar says. Finding the virus in the spinal fluid would be a strong indicator that it caused the paralysis.
Enterovirus infections tend to peak in late summer or early fall. Reports of paralysis peaked in September. Doctors continue the study the enterovirus outbreak and paralysis cases to better understand how to help other kids, Sejvar says.
In terms of enterovirus, "it's safe to say that this year's outbreak is essentially over," Sejvar says. "We're hoping we don't see a recurrence of this virus next year. But we're taking no chances."




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