Childhood paralyzing infection officially recorded in US 22 states
'17.10.2018'
Source: The Washington Post
Federal health officials warn that in the US a growing number of cases a rare polio-like infection that affects mainly children and can cause paralysis.
This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already reported 127 confirmed or suspected cases of acute flaccid myelitis, a disease of which little is known. The Washington Post... Officially, over the past few weeks, 62 cases have been confirmed in 22 states, and more than 90% in children from 4 to 18 years old.
Acute flaccid myelitis, known as AFM (acute flaccid myelitis), affects the nervous system of the human body - in particular, its spinal cord - and can cause paralysis. Unlike polio, there is no vaccine against acute flaccid myelitis.
Acute flaccid myelitis develops due to a viral infection, although its exact cause is unknown to science. Symptoms include weakness of the limbs, ptosis (sagging, muscle prolapse) of the face, and problems with swallowing and speaking.
Doctors emphasize that it is very important to pay attention to the earliest signs of the disease and seek help as soon as possible. The CDC notes the importance of prevention: get vaccinated on time, wash hands regularly and avoid mosquito bites.
The treatment focuses only on alleviating the symptoms, there is no cure for the disease itself.
Cases of acute flaccid myelitis were first reported in the United States in August 2014. By the end of the same year, 120 was diagnosed for residents of 34 states. From August 2014 to August 2018, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received information about 362 cases of acute flaccid myelitis in the United States.
Five cases have been recorded in recent weeks in Maryland - the first on September 21. There were no known cases reported in Virginia or the county this year, but there were three such patients in Virginia in 2016, the Department of Health said.
CDC senior specialist Nancy Messonnier says it is important for parents to remember that this condition remains rare despite the increasing number of cases. “I understand what fear for a child is like,” she says. "But you should know that OBM is a rare disease."
However, it is a “serious enough disease” that Messonnier believes it is important to talk more about the disease and encourage parents to seek help as soon as possible for any symptoms - especially if the child suddenly becomes lethargic or the muscles in his arms or legs become less toned.
Some patients recover quickly, but others are less fortunate - paralysis persists for a long time, and the child needs constant special care.
Analyzes show that poliovirus is not associated with acute flaccid myelitis, as well as West Nile virus, which is indicated on the agency’s website as one of the possible causative agents of the disease. Viruses similar to those causing some serious respiratory diseases were also assumed. Doctors did not find a connection with the vaccination of children and the development of acute flaccid myelitis.
The Office reports that there is no scientific evidence as to who may be at a higher risk of developing this condition. The CDC tested many different samples in patients with this condition on a wide range of pathogens or microbes that can cause OBM, but nothing of the kind was found in the cerebrospinal fluid.
This disease also does not have a geographical sign - neither in the United States nor in other countries.
Benjamin Greenberg, a neurologist who treats children at the University of Texas in the southwest of Dallas, said that OBM is "extremely rare." But, if he was diagnosed in a child, parents should prepare for extensive physical therapy, which is not always covered by insurance. Some children, paralyzed by OBM, eventually learned to walk again, but this takes time.
“Families facing this are seeing a slow but steady recovery,” he said.
The CDC did not disclose a specific list of 22 states with confirmed and suspected cases for reasons of confidentiality. But some state health departments make public their recorded cases.
