Acute flaccid myelitis: 6 cases of rare disease resembling polio confirmed in Minnesota

Doctors and parents are on the alert because of a recent spike in children with a rare and mysterious disorder that causes symptoms similar to polio and even paralysis.

"He started complaining of a stiff neck, he could not move his neck, then his left arm," said Father James Hil.

His 7-year-old son Quinton was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM.

"We thought it was an arm-limb." As he was lying on it, we did not think much about it at first, but a few hours later, we are no longer able to move his arm, we have been worried, "Hil said.

The Minnesota Department of Health sees zero to one MFA case a year on average. The state is currently reporting six children diagnosed since September.

"It starts with a cold, a cough, a runny nose, congestion and, before you know it, you have weakness and paralysis of your arms and legs," said Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.

The CDC indicates that the AFM is presented as polio or West Nile. Symptoms include weakness, loss of muscle tone, facial looseness, difficulty swallowing, slurred speech and, in severe cases, paralysis.

We do not know what the cause is, we think it could be due to a virus, "said Dr. Nesheiwat.

The CDC reported that there were 362 cases of MFA registered in the United States from 2014 to 2018.

In 2016, the Seattle Children's Hospital reported a similar outbreak of cases in children under 14 years of age. This epidemic cost Daniel Ramirez, 6, his life.

Experts said the cause of the recent rise was not clear. Although there is currently no treatment for AFM, Quinton's father is confident that his son can beat the odds.

"A small percentage of kids say that they are able to recover, so we just hope for the best and we know that Quinton is super tough, and if someone wants to get it back, we are firmly convinced that he will do it, "Hil said. I said.