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Colorado Children With Paralysis-Like Symptoms Getting Special Therapy

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A new case of a child in Colorado suffering from paralysis-like symptoms was announced by health officials on Monday, and now doctors are working to determine if the mysterious illness is connected to another that's already made hundreds of children sick.

Of the ill 10 children in the group at Children's Hospital, four are still be treated. It's still unclear what is causing the muscle weakness and how it could be related to a respiratory illness like enterovirus D68.

Hospitals have been flooded with respiratory virus cases across the country affecting children of all ages. But in Colorado a group of 10 of those children have also come down with troubling muscle weakness.

"Children have had a viral illness a couple of weeks, maybe a week before, and then they present with, 'I have a hard time moving my arm, I have a hard time moving my legs,' and maybe difficult swallowing," Dr. Christine Nyquist with Children's Hospital said.

Doctors at Children's Hospital say it's unclear how the two issues may be related.

"We haven't proven the association at this point," Nyquist said.

But the children are getting special therapy.

"The children who are in the hospital are getting daily physical and occupational therapy, they're getting range of motion of their joints," Dr. Joyce Oleszek with Children's Hospital said.

It's still unknown if the symptoms will completely disappear or could be permanent.
And because there are still a lot of unknowns, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is getting involved.

"We haven't proven that the kids that we're seeing, these 10 children, this virus is causing that, that's why we're really looking at the big picture and asking for help," Nyquist said.

The respiratory virus is showing no signs of slowing down. Doctors at Children's Hospital say they saw a spike in cases last week and the emergency room is as busy as ever.

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