Wastewater samples have shown elevated levels of a respiratory virus that has been linked to paralysis in some children, sparking concerns about potentially rising cases in the U.S., according to a report from WastewaterSCAN.
The virus, enterovirus D68, is one of “100 non-polio enteroviruses,” according to Cleveland Clinic’s website. While the virus itself is common, neurological complications are “relatively rare,” the clinic noted.
“It circulates in the summer, like all its other enteroviral cousins, but this one causes a specific problem,” Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital in New York, told Fox News Digital.
“It affects the nerves and can cause paralysis across the spinal cord.” The virus typically has “on and off years,” Nachman said, noting that this looks to be an “on year” based on recent wastewater data.
WastewaterSCAN, a Stanford University-based nonprofit in partnership with Emory University, monitors nationwide samples of wastewater sewage for infectious diseases to help alert public health officials, according to its website.
The organization also contributes its data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS).
Wastewater samples can point to early warning signs of infectious diseases in a community, even before symptoms are detected, the CDC noted.
“Wastewater is a good surrogate marker for whether a virus is circulating in the environment,” Nachman told Fox News Digital.
