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KIMT NEWS 3 – Acute flaccid myelitis, also known as MAF, is a polio-like disease that continues to spread.
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating 252 cases of AFD, including 90 confirmed cases in 27 states. Iowa and Minnesota both have confirmed cases.
Graham Briggs is the director of public health for Olmsted County. He reports that there is still no confirmed or suspected case in Rochester or in Olmsted County.
Health officials at the local, national and federal levels are still trying to learn more about the infectious disease that mainly affects children and can cause paralysis. Symptoms of AFM include limb weakness, lowering of the face, and difficulty swallowing or speaking.
Briggs said that AFM is not something new. The CDC found that a large number of cases had been reported in 2014. Researchers are now trying to understand how and why the spread continues, which can be a cause for concern.
Since October, Senator Amy Klobuchar has wanted answers. So much so that she met medical experts and recently diagnosed children's families, and even sent letters to the CDC.
"I think part of that pushes us to get the data so that we can understand who gets it and why," Klobuchar said.
Health officials like Briggs say it's not that simple.
"Infectious diseases are delicate and you never really know what to expect," Briggs said.
He adds that the effort to understand the disease can take time.
"We would not want to do that quickly and increase the chances that we will do things wrong, I think at the federal level," said Briggs. "While the senator [Klobuchar] If we have asked very valid questions, it will take some time before I can respond to those I think as a nation. "
Briggs said the large number of cases studied could actually help researchers better understand the infectious disease.
The disease did not result in death this year.
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