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The work of the detectives – formerly known as officers of the Epidemic Intelligence Service – is to collect data on acute flaccid myelitis, called AFM, and to try to identify the cause of the outbreak. Currently, the cause is unknown and there is no treatment or vaccine.
AFM is a rare disease that affects the nervous system, especially the gray matter of the spinal cord, and causes muscle weakness and a sudden onset of paralysis. Children can be affected in different ways: some find use of their paralyzed limbs, others are paralyzed from the neck to the feet and can only breathe with the help of a fan.
The official said that there was an "emergency" in the situation. "It was clear in October that we needed more staff to carry out the critical reaction," the official said. "We are bringing together additional people, additional minds, additional resources, additional activities."
Jeremy Wilcox, whose 4-year-old son was diagnosed with MFA in September, organized a meeting last week between parents and a senior CDC official. He said that he welcomed the strengthened response. "It is very encouraging to hear that the CDC has intensified its response, significantly increasing the resources needed to respond to AFM," he said. "It's a radical difference."
Overall, the number of CDC staff working full-time on the disease has more than doubled, from 21 to 44 since mid-October, according to the official.
The new staffing levels are part of an "escalation" on the AFM that has not been observed in previous years, said the manager.
CDC director Robert Redfield announced Monday that the agency had created the flaccid acute myelitis working group to facilitate the investigation. This working group will bring together experts from various fields of medicine and public health to try to find the cause of AFM and improve treatments.
The official said that it would take time to answer some of the most crucial questions regarding AFM. Although experts believe that it is caused by a common type of virus, it is difficult to understand why most people who contract the virus recover easily while others become paralyzed.
"I would hate to promise parents that the problem will be solved in a short period of time because it is not easy, otherwise we would have solved it," said the manager.
CNN's John Bonifield contributed to this report.
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