Polio was thought to be largely eradicated worldwide, although it is still wreaking havoc in countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. However, at the Congress of the American Academy of Neurology in Philadelphia, doctors have just presented five cases of a disease that affects children in California whose symptoms seem to be mistaken for those of polio: sudden loss movement of one of their limbs followed by paralysis within two days.
These five children had all been vaccinated against polio and their tests for the presence of the disease were all negative.
“Although the polio virus has been virtually eradicated worldwide, other viruses can affect the spinal cord, causing a syndrome similar to that of the disease,” said Stanford neurologist Keith Van Haren, senior author of this case study. “During the last decade, the link has been made between new forms of enteroviruses (viruses that come from the digestive sphere) and the appearance of this polio-like syndrome in children in Asia and Australia” , added the researcher, while insisting on the fact that this syndrome remains nevertheless very rare.
He nevertheless advises parents to remain vigilant and to contact their doctor as soon as possible if a child shows signs, even weak ones, of what may look like paralysis.
Like polio, a highly infectious viral disease that attacks the nervous system, this new form of enterovirus affects the spinal cord and is, for now, incurable. However, the disease is serious because the paralysis that affects the limbs can also affect the respiratory muscles, which then cease to function.
