Media: paralysis-causing virus spreading in US wastewater
Wastewater control data in the United States indicate an increase in the concentration of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which is considered to be the causative agent of acute flaccid myelitis, which paralyses the spinal cord, TASS reports with reference to NBC News
It is informed that, in 2024, thirteen cases of infection with this virus have already been detected in the country. A total of 758 such cases have been recorded since 2014. It is claimed that the virus affects the nervous system and causes severe weakness in arms and legs. Most often, young children suffer from this disease.
According to Alexandria Boehm, who heads the WastewaterSCAN national programme that monitors diseases through municipal wastewater systems, experts from her organisation are detecting ‘EV-D68 nucleic acids in wastewater across the country, and their level is increasing’.
