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The CDC is studying more than 100 possible cases of the disease.
A disease that affects the nervous system and causes muscle weakness has been diagnosed in dozens of children across the country.
Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that a total of 62 confirmed cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) had been diagnosed in 22 states.
This year, 127 cases of AFM have been confirmed or are currently under investigation in the United States, according to the CDC.
The rare disease causes symptoms similar to polio and affects the spinal cord.
In Minnesota, six young patients have been diagnosed with AFM, which warns public health officials.
Kristen Ehresmann, director of epidemiology, infectious disease prevention and control at the Minnesota Department of Health, told Healthline, "This is very worrying."
According to the National Institutes of Health, the AFM is classified in the category of rare diseases. It tends to develop in children more than in adults.
A main symptom of AFM is the appearance of sudden muscle weakness in the arms and legs. Other symptoms
- weakness of the face
- sagging eyelids
- difficulty swallowing,
Speaking, or move your eyes
The most serious complication of AFM is respiratory failure. This happens if the muscles involved in breathing weaken.
Health officials have no exact cause of AFM The CDC says that the main culprit may be a virus, environmental toxins or genetic disorders. Some viruses that can cause AFM or similar neurological conditions include polio, West Nile and
"As for the diseases that I usually treat, say if it's measles, we know the incubation period, we know the infectious period. In this case, it's unknown, "said Ehresmann. "You can not tie it in a neat bow."
According to the CDC, the number of AFD cases in the country has increased slightly since 2014.
Between August 2014 and September 2018, the agency received information on a total of 362 cases of MFA across the United States.
"Most cases continue to occur in children," according to his website. This year to date, there are approximately 38 cases across the country, 16 states.
In 2014, the CDC determined that AFM cases in 2014 occurred during a national outbreak of children with Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), according to Dr. Robert Glatter, emergency doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
"However, the CDC did not consistently detect EV-D68 in all children whose AFM was confirmed," he told Healthline in an email. "The recently reported AFM case group data will need to be carefully evaluated to better understand the role of the EV-D68 in this new epidemic."
At present, it is unclear what caused the AFM cases in Illinois, Colorado and Pittsburgh. Ehresmann said the Minnesota public health officials had linked their epidemic to a virus, but had not yet determined the exact name.
They also know that the six children all developed the disease at about the same time. But children do not go to the same school, they are not close to each other.
"Cases come from all over the state," Ehresmann said.
According to Glatter, there is no way to determine which child will develop the AFM.
"To date, we have no way of determining which children may be at high risk of developing the AFM, nor the underlying explanation that predisposes them to develop the AFM. in the first place, "he said. "The search for a biomarker in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid would be helpful in identifying high-risk individuals."
Like other neurological diseases, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, physiotherapy or occupational therapy are the only treatment options for people with AFM. Glatter said the long-term effects of AFM are unclear at the moment.
"While some patients have recovered quickly, others have remained paralyzed and require a high level of ongoing care to support their breathing and monitor neurological deterioration," he said.
The news of a
But Glatter and Ehresmann quickly said that AFM is very rare. At present, the CDC says that the probability that a person develops the AFM is one in a million.
Nevertheless, both said that no clear idea of which children might develop MFA was unclear, so parents should be aware of any changes if their child becomes ill.
"Parents should remain alert for signs of muscle weakness or difficulty breathing that appear during and after the recovery from an upper respiratory infection," said Glatter.
Ehresmann noted that the sudden onset of muscle weakness is the most obvious sign.
"If you see this in your child, it is important to have him or her immediately see a health care provider," she said.
Ehresmann also noted that now that the school is in session and that the cold months are coming, it is more crucial than ever that people maintain strict hygiene habits. Make sure your children wash their hands, wash and cough your elbow.
"It's not really exciting," she says, "but it's a good reminder of what you can do on a daily basis."
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