New treatment gives hope to children with polio-like illness

The cases of a mysterious illness that has left crippled children have nearly doubled in the last month.

>> Read more new trends

A total of 116 cases were confirmed across the country, including three in Georgia.

This is what is called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. The disease begins as a common cold and then leads to symptoms similar to polio, including partial paralysis.

But now, doctors see new hope for restoring mobility. They try surgery that moves the nerves healthy.

They have just performed microsurgery on an 8 year old child who first had a sinus infection and then lost the strength of his left arm.

>> What causes a polio-like illness?

"Tahi's face was sagging, he lost his main strength and so can not sit without badistance," said the boy's mother, "Trisha Toya.

Doctors try the surgical procedure that moves the nerves healthy.

We do microsurgery, we disconnect a muscle and turn it into a tunnel to a new target, "said Dr. Mitchel Seruya of the Los Angeles Children's Hospital.

The doctors said that the timing of this surgery was crucial because it had to be performed within the first 18 months of diagnosis.

There is no cure for AFM. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based in Atlanta started a working group last week to study the causes of the disease as well as possible treatments.

Even with the increase in the number of cases, according to the CDC, "fewer than one to two children in a million in the United States will receive the AFM each year".

© 2018 Cox Media Group.