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Spencer Hill, age 6, was reported to be struggling with a cold until he began to struggle to walk and move his arms.
Then he could not write and his legs started to give way.
"You see your kid, who likes to run and play," WRCB Serena Hill, the Tennessee boy's mother, told WRCB. "Suddenly, Mom, I can not close my pants. I do not know how to write. You see him fall and his legs let go. It's absolutely terrifying.
Spencer is one of 62 confirmed cases in 22 states of acute flaccid myelitis (AMA), with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigating another 65. According to his mother, he has been living in a children's hospital in Atlanta since last month and has been working on fine motor skills for three weeks while receiving intense infusions of steroids to stop the spread of paralysis.
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About 90% of confirmed cases involve children who have suffered from muscle weakness or paralysis, including the face, neck, back, or limbs. Symptoms tend to appear about a week after fever or respiratory illness.
On Tuesday, CDC officials said they had found no cause in the recent outbreak, which is similar to the trends reported in 2014 and 2016. On its website, the agency lists viruses, environmental toxins and genetic disorders as possible causes of AFM. He also mentions West Nile virus, adenoviruses, polioviruses and non-polio enteroviruses as potential suspects, but some have been detected in recent cases of paralysis, but not in others.
"It's a mystery so far," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the CDC.
Many children end up recovering from the disease, the treatments varying according to their symptoms and the severity of the disease, but others do not.
Carter Roberts, who according to his family was a fully vaccinated and healthy child, was touched by the virus at the age of 3 in 2016. Carter's family said that after his diagnosis he had spent nearly 200 days in the hospital, including more than 100 days in physical intensive care. treatment, but he remained totally dependent on a fan unable to move on his own, his prognosis being unlikely to change.
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On September 22, almost two and a half years after his diagnosis, and the same day he received a push-powered motorized wheelchair that would help him navigate kindergarten, Carter died.
Carter Roberts died on September 22, about two and a half years after the diagnosis of MFA.
(GoFundMe)
"We are so sad to announce that Carter died last night around 8 pm," said an article on the Carter's Coalition Facebook page. "Although we miss him more than words can express, he is free of his machines and his tubes. He is free to run, climb and play as before AFM. He is surrounded by love and peace in paradise. Our family has always changed since almost 6 years we spent with him this year. His voice, his spirit and his joy will be sorely missed but will never be forgotten. "
The CDC did not reveal which of the 22 states had confirmed cases, but said most cases had started in August and September. Messonnier said that in general, parents can help protect their children from illness by washing their hands and applying an insect repellent to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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