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"Federal health officials are urging doctors to promptly report any case of a mysterious, polio-like illness that strikes children primarily to understand the disease before the next outbreak.
The disease, whose cause has puzzled government scientists, affected 233 patients in 41 states last year and circulates mainly between August and October. It is known as acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, and leads to limb weakness that can become so severe that children must be connected to a respirator.
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called on doctors to quickly recognize the symptoms of the disease and report them to their public health departments. On average, the CDC reported that it did not receive such reports 18 days after the fact.
The CDC has been following the disease since 2014, when at least 120 people were infected. The next outbreak occurred two years later, with 149 cases, and the highest number was recorded two years later, in 2018, with 233 cases. Although considered a seasonal epidemic, the disease can still occur out of season. So far this year, 11 people have been affected in eight states.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's Senior Deputy Director, acknowledged that while the numbers were still modest, physicians should remain vigilant as they probably never had to treat a child with the disease.
"We hope that today's report will remind clinicians and parents that the season is approaching and that if a child has weakness in the legs or arm, he should be given 39, help immediately, "she said Tuesday in an appeal to reporters.
Officials compare the disease to polio because it affects the nervous system in the same way, weakening the muscles of patients and preventing them from moving. Infected persons develop a facial looseness as well as slurred speech.
Studies conducted in 2018 suggest that respiratory viruses may be to blame, but scientists do not know why they could trigger the AFM nor why cases become so severe in some people and not in others .
The CDC works in partnership with seven hospitals this season and is conducting a study with the National Institutes of Health, but they are also relying on doctors to help them get to the bottom of things.
"We monitor the trends and clinical presentation of the AFM, we conduct research to identify possible risk factors, we use advanced laboratory tests and research to understand how viral infections can lead to cancer." AFM, and we track the long-term results of patients with AFM, "said Dr. Tom. Clark, Assistant Director, CDC Viral Diseases Division.
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