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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that 155 patients were under investigation this year for acute flaccid myelitis, a disease that can cause paralysis and mostly affecting children. St. Louis has his first reported case of acute flaccid myelitis.
Of these, 62 have been confirmed by the CDC in 22 states and the rest are under investigation.
Acute flaccid myelitis, also called MAF, is a rare but serious condition that affects the nervous system – especially the area of the spinal cord called gray matter. According to the CDC, it affects less than one in a million people every year in the country.
The number of patients under investigation is up from 127 patients a week ago, although no new confirmed cases have been reported.
According to Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the Agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, the average age of confirmed patients is only 4 years and over 90% of cases occur in children 18 years old and under.
"The CDC are actively investigating the AFM, testing samples and monitoring the disease since 2014, when we saw a first increase in the number of cases," Messonnier told reporters last week. "Most MFA cases occur in late summer and fall," but no geographic grouping was found and there is no evidence of MFA. another "unifying factor to explain the peaks", which seems to occur every two years, she added.
The CDC received information on 33 confirmed cases of MFA in 2017, 149 cases in 2016, 22 cases in 2015 and 120 cases by the end of 2014.
"There are many things we do not know about the AFM," including the cause in the majority of cases, said Messonnier. Although potential causes may include some viruses, environmental toxins and genetic disorders, the CDC states, "AFM can be difficult to diagnose because it shares many of the same symptoms as other neurological diseases."
It's also hard to know who could be at a higher risk of developing AFM, said Messonnier. The CDC does not fully understand the long-term consequences or reasons why some patients recover quickly while others continue to experience paralysis and weakness.
The CDC urges parents to be aware of this condition and seek immediate treatment if family members develop sudden weakness or loss of muscle tone in the arms or legs.
"It's a mystery so far, and we have not solved it yet, so we have to think in general terms," said Messonnier.
& # 39; Not knowing & # 39;
"What aggravates the situation, is not to know what caused it," said Erica Palacios, whose 2-year-old daughter, Abigail, began to show signs of MFA the month latest.
"It was one of the most horrible experiences of my life," said Palacios, of Columbus, Georgia.
Her four children had caught a cold at the same time, but young Abigail's condition continued to worsen despite her mother's efforts to keep her children healthy.
After a few days, she realized that Abigail's arm had become limp and had taken her daughter to the hospital, where the doctors had started to make her a white man.
"They did all the tests known to mankind," said Palacios.
The doctors transferred Abigail to the Atlanta Children's Health Center, where she needed ICU breathing and feeding tubes. She was then transferred to the Scottish Rite Hospital's Inpatient Rehabilitation Program, where she regained some movement in one arm and can now stand up and walk with help.
"At this point, she makes almost daily gains," said one of Abigail's doctors, Dr. Laura Jones, a pediatric rehabilitation physician.
Nevertheless, the 2-year-old boy will return home in a wheelchair. Palacios said his daughter wanted to get up and play, but was frustrated and did not understand why she could not.
"We do not know much about the long-term prognosis of the AFM at the moment. It's something we're still very much aware of, "said Jones. "We know that some children recover very quickly and recover very quickly, while others continue to have many weaknesses, but we have not yet determined the factors that determine which children belong to which category. "
Palacios says she wants answers about the causes of AFM, how to prevent it, and how to treat it, both for Abigail and for other families affected by the disease.
"She was at that age when she was learning to be independent, and she has become dependent again now," Palacios said.
"No parent should ever have to live this."
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