Doctors shocked to discover common virus left baby paralysed – the 3 ways to keep your child safe | The Sun
A BABY was left paralysed after catching common virus.
The 13-month-old girl from Germany starting experiencing diarrhoea and vomiting before her left arm went floppy.
Her parents decided to take her to A&E to get her "weak" arm seen to by medics.
Initially, doctors from the local hospital in Saxony, Germany, believed the baby's arm could be dislocated.
But further tests revealed the child was suffering from enterovirus-A70.
In over 90 per cent of people the bug causes a mild cold-like illness which lasts about a week – most won't even know they've caught it.
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However, newborns are more at risk for severe complications and even death because of their immature immune systems.
In babies, the bug can trigger sepsis and severe neurological disorders such as meningitis, encephalitis and – like in this case- paralysis.
Writing in the Journal of Medical Case Reports, medics said that following treatment to help her fight the bug, the child made a "remarkable improvement".
Before discharging the baby, they recommended physiotherapy to help with the "remaining" paralysis.
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Enterovirus-A70 belongs to a family of enteroviruses, all of which cause similar symptoms.
Sister bug, enterovirus-11 is currently on the rise in the UK and Europe.
This month, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that at least 26 infants in Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK had been infected since 2022.
That is more than would be expected, a WHO spokesperson said.
Eight of those babies died, with most deaths reported in France following organ failure and sepsis.
In March 2023, a set of twins from the UK were diagnosed with the condition, after suffering from rapid organ failure – both later died.
The bug is usually spread through faecal matter as it lives in the digestive system.
It comes as cases of a similar bug, enterovirus-D68, were reportedly on the rise last year.
Here are 3 ways to keep your children safe
There are currently no vaccines against enterovirus infections.
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But according to the Centre for Disease Control, here are some of the best way to help protect yourself and your family:
- Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after using the toilet or changing nappys
- Avoid close contact, such as touching and shaking hands, with people who are sick
- Clean and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces
Enterovirus symptoms
Symptoms of mild illness may include:
- fever
- runny nose, sneezing, cough
- skin rash
- mouth blisters
- body and muscle aches
Symptoms of more serious illness include:
- viral conjunctivitis
- hand, foot, and mouth disease
- viral meningitis (infection of the covering of the spinal cord and/or brain)
- viral encephalitis (infection of the brain)
- myocarditis (infection of the heart)
- pericarditis (infection of the sac around the heart)
- acute flaccid paralysis (a sudden onset of weakness in one or more arms or legs)
- inflammatory muscle disease (slow, progressive muscle weakness)
Source: Centre for Disease Control
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