In Colorado, a group of 4 to 15- year old children were rushed to the hospital after having experienced weakness in their limbs following a previous respiratory illness. Some reported to have difficulty in walking and others had trouble lifting their arms.
After a few tests the, the doctors who are overseeing the health of the children reported that along with the weakness in the limbs, the children also exhibited cranial nerve dysfunction and certain abnormalities in their spinal gray matter. This is why doctors concluded that the symptoms these children share are that of neurological illness.
Looking further into the surfacing of the illnesses, especially after another group of school-aged children who share the same symptoms were brought to a children's hospital in Boston, doctors discovered that the children contacted the Enterovirus D68 prior to having the weakness in their limbs.
According to a report, Enterovirus D68 comes from a family of viruses (Picornaviridae) which includes other enteroviruses, rhinoviruses and the poliovirus. Because of this familial link between D68, rhinoviruses and the poliovirus, experts state that it is not impossible for patients who once contacted the D68 to experience symptoms that are common when one has any of these other viruses.
For instance patients who have D68 will share common cold symptoms like those that are present in rhinovirus infections such as cough, runny nose, sneezing and fever. For those that contact the less virulent strains of these viruses, the patient can get better and recover a few days after the surfacing of the symptoms just by having bed rest and over-the-counter medication.
Those who contact the more virulent strains or those whose immunity are compromised or weak (children, for instance) are prone to getting more serious symptoms - neurological illnesses, such as those in the reported cases, are but one. Others may experience paralysis; hand, foot and mouth disease; viral meningitis and encephalitis.