[ad_1]
Health authorities across the country are monitoring the outbreak of Acute Acute Myelitis or Acute Myelitis – about half a dozen cases reported in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Parker Counties on October 18th.
The state health department announced that as of 18 October, six northern Texas residents had been diagnosed with AFD in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Parker counties.
About one in a million people receive AFM, so it's considered rare. But this is also considered common because it is caused by a small family of viruses called enteroviruses.
"They are every month. They cause colds, "says Dr. Benjamin Greenberg, a neurologist who heads the Transverse Myelitis Treatment Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Health in Dallas.
"You may not even know it when you are infected or have minimal symptoms or a cold. But there is very little, but unfortunately, where the virus invades the spinal cord and causes paralysis. "
Greenberg does not expect the current outbreak in North Texas to grow. He says that the best thing to avoid AFM is what you do to avoid a cold: wash your hands, have good hygiene and avoid work or school in case of illness. In other words, stay home.
The current epidemic: We follow a certain neurological event: children who arrive with weakness or paralysis. All indications are that the syndrome is caused by a virus or a small family of viruses called enteroviruses.
And they are every month. They cause colds. There are nearly a hundred different enteroviruses, and at different times of the year, different subtypes of enteroviruses prevail.
We find that between August and October, there is a specific enterovirus that seems to peak and now appears to be associated with a cause of paralysis.
Rare but common: Millions of people are infected with these enteroviruses. They are extremely common. You may not even know it when you are infected or have only minimal symptoms or a cold. There are very few elites, but unfortunately, where the virus invades the spinal cord and causes paralysis.
Treatment: We do not have a specific medicine to treat the virus, so our treatments belong to two categories:
- One is to limit the damage done to the spinal cord by swelling or inflammation.
- The other is to work with children and families on rehabilitation techniques, to try to strengthen nerves and muscles and restore function.
Disease resembling polio: AFM is almost the exact syndrome we have seen in polio-myelitis outbreaks. The difference is a different viral cause. Cousin of the polio virus. These enteroviruses and the polio virus all belong to the same family of viruses. In the world of polio viruses, they caused gastrointestinal illness – diarrhea – and in one case out of 100, the virus invaded the spinal cord.
This specific group of enteroviruses gives a cold, a cough and a runny nose. Simple symptoms of a respiratory infection. And then, in 100,000 cases, it invades the spinal cord.
The chances of a major epidemic: At the present time, if we look at the history of 2014, 2016 and 2018, there is no reason to expect that the outbreak will break out. way much faster than today. We expect that we will break through, in terms of the number of cases, over the next eight weeks, depending on the natural seasonality of the virus.
We should approach the top of our business.
To avoid AFM: Try to avoid colds: washing hands, good hygiene. In addition, when people get sick (parents or children), do not go to work or school.
You do us a favor by staying at home.
Source link
