Jacksonville child has polio-like illness that affects children

A 3-year-old girl was admitted to the Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville for a polio-like illness that federal health authorities confirmed reached 386 cases until Tuesday, mostly affecting children.

Dr. Mobeen Rathore, head of infectious diseases and immunology at Wolfson, said in a statement that the child, who was not identified, had been admitted to hospital with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). This is the first case of this kind in the hospital.

The AFM affects the nervous system, especially the spinal cord, causing sudden weakening of the arms and legs, sometimes resulting in paralysis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease is not new, but the CDC has reported an increase in the number of cases since 2014. The body does not know what causes the mysterious disease, whose symptoms include drooping eyelids, facial weakness, speech disorders and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.

The disease mainly affects children. The average age of children is around 4 years, and 90% of cases involve children 18 years of age and under, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, when a teleconference with reporters on Tuesday.

A child died of the disease.

"We do not know much about the AFM," Messonnier told NPR during a teleconference with reporters Tuesday. "I am frustrated that despite all our efforts, we have not been able to identify the cause of this mysterious disease."

Although the virus has similarities with polio, Messonnier pointed out that poliomyelitis was not the cause of the disease. According to the CDC, West Nile virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, and enteroviruses other than polio, which could become a serious disease for infants and those with compromised immune systems, could also be at risk. origin of West Nile virus.

The disease is rare: in the United States, fewer than 1 million people have access to the AFM in a given year, says the CDC.

The AFM entered the CDC radar for the first time in 2014, with 120 cases over a five-month period in 34 states. Then, in 2016, the number of cases still peaked with 149 cases in 39 states.

In 2018, the number of cases almost doubled compared to last year, with 62 children in 22 states confirmed by the CDC. Minnesota has seen seven cases in children this year alone.

On Tuesday, the total number of cases had reached 386, said the CDC.

Rathore, the Jacksonville specialist, said that he was not shocked to see a case this year.

"We see him reaching a peak every two years," he said in an interview on Wednesday.

The girl is in a stable state, said Wolfson spokeswoman Vikki Mioduszewsk.

The CDC recommends that parents make sure their children are vaccinated, wash their hands regularly, and use mosquito repellent outdoors.