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Acute flaccid myelitis, a paralyzing disease similar to polio, has been diagnosed in more children, according to figures released Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stepped up their response to the polio-like disease that has hit children in 29 states, increasing the number of detectives in Atlanta, according to a health official. CDC close to the investigation.
The work of the detectives – formerly known as officers of the Epidemic Intelligence Service – is to collect data on acute flaccid myelitis, called AFM, and to try to identify the cause of the outbreak. Currently, the cause is unknown and there is no treatment or vaccine.
AFM is a rare disease that affects the nervous system, especially the gray matter of the spinal cord, and causes muscle weakness and a sudden onset of paralysis. Children can be affected in different ways: some use their paralyzed limbs, others are paralyzed from the neck to the feet and can breathe only with a fan.
The official said that there was an "emergency" in the situation. "It was clear in October that we needed more staff to carry out the critical reaction," the official said. "We bring together additional people, additional minds, additional resources, additional activities."
In a CNN article last month, parents of children with AFM and some CDC medical advisers blamed the agency for not taking so long to respond to the outbreak.
Jeremy Wilcox, whose 4-year-old son was diagnosed with MFA in September, organized a meeting last week between parents and a senior CDC official. He said that he welcomed the strengthened response. "It is very encouraging to hear that the CDC has stepped up its interventions, significantly increasing the resources available to respond to the AFM," he said. "It's a radical difference."
Overall, the number of CDC staff working full-time on the disease has more than doubled, from 21 to 44 since mid-October, according to the official.
This year, there were 106 confirmed cases of acute flaccid myelitis and 167 possible cases, according to the CDC. Since 2014, 430 cases of rare disease have been confirmed. Ninety percent of them have been in children.
The new staffing levels are part of an "escalation" on the AFM that has not been observed in previous years, said the manager.
CDC director Robert Redfield announced Monday that the agency had created the flaccid acute myelitis working group to facilitate the investigation. This working group will bring together experts from various fields of medicine and public health to try to find the cause of AFM and improve treatments.
The official said that it would take time to answer some of the most crucial questions regarding AFM. Although experts believe it is caused by a common type of virus, it is unclear why most people who contract the virus recover easily while others become paralyzed.
"I would hate to promise parents that the problem will be solved in a short period of time, because it is not easy, otherwise we would have solved it," said the manager.
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