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(CNN) The Illinois Department of Public Health is investigating the recent cases of acute flaccid myelitis, also called AFM, according to a statement Wednesday.
All of the cases are in patients younger than 18 and have been clinically diagnosed by health care providers, the statement said. State health officials are working with the care providers to obtain the samples and the information to the US Centers for Disease and Prevention for testing and confirmation of the diagnoses.
"The CDC will make the final determination on diagnoses and numbers are subject to change," the statement said.
(Photo by Joe Raedle / Newsmakers)
All of the patients are "from northern Illinois," according to the health department, but no other location information was provided.
Since 2015, when AFM in the state has been investigated, four confirmed cases have been identified.
AFM is a polio-like illness that affects a person's nervous system, including the spinal cord. Symptoms can include sudden limb weakness, loss of muscle tone and reflex, facial and eyelid drooping, facial weakness, difficulty moving the eyes, swallowing difficulty or slurred speech, according to the CDC.
The rare condition can be caused by a virus, a genetic disorder and environmental toxins.
Health officials in Washington State are investigating five possible cases in patients from four different counties. "All cases are among the most commonly reported symptoms of AFM," the Washington State Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday. The children were all hospitalized after experiencing "sudden onset of paralysis of one or more limbs."
The state health department is working with the CDC to determine if these are indeed cases of AFM.
AFM in Washington, DC, has been identified as one of the following cases in the United States.
There is no treatment other than managing each patient's symptoms.
Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the Colorado State Epidemiologist, said the best prevention is frequent handwashing and keeping kids when they are sick.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Department of Health said 14 cases there this year. All of the patients are hospitalized, the department said, noting that "nearly all have fully recovered."
"The state health department has been monitoring this situation closely since early spring. The department said in a statement, "the department said in a statement.
The type of viruses found in 12 of the Colorado cases, enteroviruses, typically increases in the summer and is common, the state health department. However, 11 of the Colorado cases of AFM have tested positive for EV A71, a rare type of enterovirus not commonly seen in the US, rather in Asia and other parts of the world, according to Herlihy. "This is certainly the largest outbreak of A71 enterovirus we've seen in Colorado."
She referred to these 11 cases as an outbreak within an outbreak. "We have 41 cases of children who have had a history of A71, which is a wide spectrum of neurological illness."
In previous years, cases of AFM in Colorado and elsewhere have been positive for a different enterovirus, EV-D68.
On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health said it was investigating six cases of AFM in children.
As of September 30, according to the CDC, 38 cases of AFM have been confirmed in 16 states. This does not include all of the 14 boxes announced by Colorado, as some of those cases were confirmed after September 30. They also did not confirm the case in Minnesota or Illinois.
Since August 2014, when the CDC has been tracking the disease more closely, the agency has reported 362 cases.
In 2017, 33 cases were reported in 16 states. One hundred forty-nine cases were reported in 39 states in 2016 and 22 cases in 17 states in 2015.
By Debra Goldschmidt, CNN
The-CNN-Wire
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