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According to the state's Department of Public Health, two Massachusetts children contracted a rare and serious illness that caused muscle weakness and paralysis.
The first case of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, was confirmed in August in August, according to the department that is investigating four other suspected cases. There is no specific treatment or treatment for the disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been actively investigating the AFM since 2014 and "monitor" the activity of the disease. According to the CDC, from August 2014 to September 2018, 386 confirmed cases of AFM have been reported to the federal agency and the cause of the majority of cases has not been confirmed. So far, in 2018, 62 cases have been confirmed in 22 states.
We spoke with Dr. Leslie Benson, Assistant Director of the Neuroimmunology Program at Boston Children's Hospital, to learn more about the disease, which has been described as being similar to polio.
What is acute flaccid myelitis?
This is not "totally clear" which causes the AFM, explained Benson.
"Most likely, it seems to be a viral infection – especially a fairly common viral infection," she said. "But we do not know why, in some patients, it could affect the spinal cord. When it infects the spine or parts of the brainstem, it can cause sudden weakness and paralysis. "
The effects of AMCs range from weak facial muscles to bladder control problems and weakened breathing.
"It's not just a virus that can do it. There are some viruses that can do it, "she said. "And we can not always detect them in every patient for a variety of reasons."
The vast majority of cases involve children, especially young children, Benson said. She stated that, according to her experience, the average age of patients was four years, although this is possible in younger children.
"I saw [it in] anyone from one to two years, even teenagers, "she said.
what is the treatement?
No specific treatment helps or reverses the effects of the disease.
"The main part of the treatment is support," said Benson. "If they can not breathe, we ventilate them. If they are in pain, we treat their pain. We give them a lot of physical therapy and they have a lot of rehab. "
Although patients may show a gradual improvement, she said that many of them ended up with permanent long-term weakness.
Why is it described as similar to polio?
Benson said the polio virus was not the culprit in the AFM cases.
"[AFM is] It is called "polio-like" because it acts much like polio because we believe it is a viral infection of the motor nerves of the spinal cord, "she said. "And, really, polio is the classic thing that does or does that."
How common is the AMF?
"In general, it's very rare," she said. "However, this year, two years ago, four years ago – so 2014 and 2016 – we have certainly seen, with the rest of the country, clusters of cases where we have had several patients with it. a few months. And this did not seem uncommon during these groups in a neurology department, but between these groups, we do not often see this disease at all. "
The season of illness, when it occurs, seems to be August, September and October, said Benson.
What are the symptoms to watch for?
Benson said he hopes there will not be many more cases in Massachusetts as the season draws to a close.
"The symptoms are most often the weakness of a member beginning in one and sometimes extending to other members," she said. "And sometimes it's a shoulder or a hip that is the first sign of weakness. It can also be a pain associated with the affected back or limb. These are the first and greatest signs that something is happening. "
In addition to the sudden onset of muscle weakness, the state's public health department said that patients may also have slurred speech, difficulty swallowing and problems with difficulty moving your eyes.
"It's a scary thing, and it's hard not to be scared for your own child, but it's also an extremely rare thing," said Benson. "The only thing under people's control is good infection control."
This includes coughing in the elbow, washing your hands and taking the precautions you normally take to avoid a cold.
"So, aside from a few general precautions, there is not much to do," she said. "But if someone was sick and noticed that his child was not working properly, you should have it checked as soon as possible."
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