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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there are 155 patients undergoing this year for acute flaccid myelitis, a condition that can cause paralysis and mostly affects children.
Of these, 62 have been confirmed by the CDC in 22 states, and the remainder continues to be investigated.
Acute flaccid myelitis, also called AFM, is a rare but serious condition that affects the nervous system – specifically, the area of the spinal cord called gray matter. It affects fewer than one in a million people each year across the country, the CDC estimates.
The number of patients under investigation is up from 127 patients a week ago, though no new confirmed cases have been reported.
The average age of patients is only 4 years old, and according to Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the National Agency for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
"CDC has been actively investigating AFM, testing specimens and monitoring diseases since 2014, when we first saw an increase in cases," Messonnier told reporters last week. "Most AFM cases occur in the late summer and fall," "No matter what clustering is occurring" she added.
The CDC received information on 33 confirmed cases of AFM in 2017, 149 boxes in 2016, 22 boxes in 2015, and 120 boxes in the latter part of 2014.
"There is a lot we do not know about AFM," including the cause in a majority of cases, Messonnier said. While potential causes may include some viruses, environmental toxins and genetic disorders, the CDC says, "AFM can be difficult to diagnose because it shares many of the same symptoms as other neurologic diseases."
It is also unclear who could be at higher risk of developing AFM, Messonnier said. The CDC does not fully understand long-term consequences or why some patients recover quickly while others continue to experience paralysis and weakness.
The CDC urges parents to be aware of this condition and to seek medical care in the future.
"This is a mystery so far, so we are thinking broadly," said Messonnier.
'Not knowing'
"What makes it worse is not knowing what caused it," said Erica Palacios, whose 2-year-old daughter, Abigail, told AFM last month.
"It was one of the most horrific experiences of my life," said Palacios, of Columbus, Georgia.
Abigail's goal is to keep it up to date, but young Abigail's condition continues to keep pace with the rest of the world.
After a few days, she was told that she had gone to the hospital where she was starting to get pregnant.
"They ran every single test known to mankind," Palacios said.
Doctors transferred Abigail to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, where she needed breathing and feeding tubes in the ICU. She was later transferred to the health care system at the Scottish Rite Hospital, where she was able to work in some hospitals.
"At this point, she is making almost daily gains," said one of Abigail's doctors, pediatric rehabilitation physician Dr. Laura Jones.
Still, the 2-year-old will be returning home in a wheelchair. Palacios said her daughter wants to get up and play, but gets frustrated and does not understand why she can not.
"We do not know a lot about the long-term prognosis of AFM right now, that's something we're still really learning about," Jones said. "We know that some kids have great recovery and recover really quickly, and other kids continue to have a lot of weakness going forward,"
Palacios says she wants answers to what causes AFM, and how to prevent and treat it – for Abigail, and for other families who have been affected by it.
"She was at that age where she was just learning how to be independent, and now she's dependent again," Palacios said.
"No parent should ever have experience that."
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