Another Sign of Election Season

When the leaves turn brown, the weather cools, and the incidents of acute flaccid myelitis go up, you know another election is around the corner. 

    US wastewater samples are showing an alarming increase in a respiratory virus that has been linked to polio-like symptoms.

    An enterovirus variant, EV-D68, can lead to acute flaccid myelitis, which can cause weakness or paralysis, typically in kids.

    “We are detecting EV-D68 nucleic acids in wastewater across the country now, and the levels are increasing,” Alexandria Boehm — program director of WastewaterScan, a nonprofit monitoring network, and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University — told NBC News this week.

It spikes every other year, with spikes in recent years in 2016, 2018, and 2022. 2020 did not have a spike, attributable by the health community to Covid lock downs, but one has to wonder if the border wall and efforts to control illegal immigration played a role.