Enterovirus D68 Spreading Across US, Wastewater Samples Show

NBC News (9/17, Edwards) reports enterovirus D68 “is spreading across the US, raising concerns about another possible rise in polio-like illnesses.” Wastewater samples analyzed by monitoring network WastewaterSCAN reveal “a significant escalation in” the virus, “which, in rare cases, has been linked to acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. The illness affects the nervous system and causes severe weakness in the arms and legs. This most often occurs in young children.” NBC News adds, “So far in 2024, 13 AFM cases have been confirmed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2014, 758 cases have been logged.”