Thanks to physical distancing, masks, doctors see fewer cases of a polio-like condition in children
Many of the respiratory viruses that normally spike in the United States in the fall and winter are circulating at notably low levels right now — a sunnier side effect of the precautions and policies meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The list of scarcer pathogens includes EV-D68. It’s an enterovirus and one of many bugs that causes colds, but is also believed to be the main driver of a rare, polio-like syndrome that develops in some children called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. Children with the condition have muscle weakness, paralysis, and, sometimes, breathing troubles.
