Enterovirus: Officials await test results on paralysis patients

Provincial health officials are waiting for test results on four patients atAlberta Children's Hospital in Calgary who are suffering from paralysis.

Three of the children have Enterovirus, but it has yet to be confirmed if they have the D68 strain.

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If they do,their symptoms are consistent with several cases in B.C. and the U.S.

The paralysis has been compared in some reports to polio.But according toDr. Judy McDonald, Calgary's medical officer of health,it's not the same thing.

Polio is in that broad class of viruses that we call Enterovirus. Theres a hundred or so different Enteroviruses. There are certain kinds of viruses in that group that can cause a wide spectrum of illness," she said.

McDonald said it's not known yet if the paralysis the children in Calgary have is permanent.

There are 50 confirmed cases of Enterovirus D68 in Alberta.