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<ul class="summary-list"><li>COVID-19 mitigation strategies may be to thank for the lack of <keyword id="9706015" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="acute-flaccid-myelitis">acute flaccid myelitis</keyword> cases.</li><li>The mysterious illness showed up in 2014, and researchers are baffled by the <keyword id="6368656" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="paralysis">paralysis</keyword> it causes. </li></ul><p>Cases of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-acute-flaccid-myelitis-cases-record-numbers-2018-2019-7">acute flaccid myelitis</a> (AFM), a polio-like illness that causes limb weakness and facial droopiness in children, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polio-like-illness-has-afflicted-some-california-children-2014-2">baffled doctors</a> when it first showed up in 2014. After six years, illness rates dwindled in 2020.</p><p>Dr. Sunil Sood, a pediatrician who specializes in infectious disease at Northwell <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">Health</keyword>, said the small number of cases is largely because of COVID-19 mitigation strategies, like wearing masks and social distancing. </p><p>Other respiratory <keyword id="87479" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="viruses">viruses</keyword>, like the flu, have also had a low-key <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm">season</a> relative to other years.</p><p>"Almost every other virus that is transmitted among people have gone into hiding," Sood told Insider. </p><p><em><strong>Read More</strong>: <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-pandemic-is-damaging-kids-mental-health-how-to-help-2021-1">The pandemic is damaging kids' mental health. Here's how parents can help.</a></em></p><p>Sood cautioned that once COVID-19 is no longer a threat, and people start to mingle, AFM and other respiratory viruses will return. </p><p>Families that are affected by this condition say AFM is a life-altering, devastating illness. </p><h2>AFM is a mysterious illness that affects young children</h2><p>AFM is a rare but serious neurological condition that mostly affects young children and usually occurs between August and November. Early symptoms include fever or cough, but quickly escalate to arm or leg weakness. The majority of cases end in paralysis. </p><p>Sood said it may be spread person to person, or through food or water. </p><p>AFM cases first started showing up in 2014. Since then, there has been a spike in cases every two years.  "It's one of those mysteries of nature," Sood said. </p><p>In August 2020, the CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p0803-acute-flaccid-myelitis-outbreak.html#:~:text=The%20Centers%20for%20Disease%20Control,the%20United%20States%20since%202014.">predicted</a> there would be a spike in AFM cases based on the past pattern, and said it was unclear if masks or social distancing would halt the spread. These strategies likely helped, as there were virtually no cases in 2020. </p><p>Considering the severity of AFM, however, parents should still remain vigilant.</p><h2>How a fever turned into paralysis for a 6-year-old girl</h2><p>Ryleigh Bradley, a six-year-old girl in Virginia, is one of 238 kids who contracted AFM in 2018. When she first ran a fever, her mother, Mallory Bradley, didn't worry too much because her two sons had fevers, too. </p><p>But Ryleigh's fever didn't stop, and she started to walk on her tiptoes. At that point, Bradley knew something was wrong. After being in the emergency room for three days, Ryleigh couldn't use her right arm. The next day, she was paralyzed. </p><p>"The only thing she was moving on her own was her eyes," Bradley said. </p><p>Ryleigh is a tetraplegia, meaning she has partial or complete loss in all four limbs, and needs help with everyday tasks, like bathing and dressing.  Prior to Ryleigh's recent hip surgery, she was able to move her legs and crawl despite needing a wheelchair. </p><p>"She has this will to get back to where she was. She's a fighter, and she does it all with a smile on her face," Bradely said. </p><p>Sood wants families who are dealing with the illness to stay hopeful, as children have a better chance at restoring muscle movement than people who get paralyzed later in life. "They should continue very diligently with physical and occupational therapy," he said. </p><h2>If you see early warning signs, seek care right away </h2><p>Although neck or back pain could be caused by the common cold, Sood urged parents to go to the emergency room if their child's symptoms develop into limb weakness or drooping of the eyes. </p><p>Sood said the earlier a child begins therapy, the less severe their symptoms will be. Even if the child is in the ICU or on a respirator, moving the muscles right away will ultimately make the paralysis less severe. </p>

A mysterious illness that was paralyzing kids has been stopped in its tracks during the pandemic

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9706015" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="acute-flaccid-myelitis">Acute flaccid myelitis</keyword> is a rare but serious neurologic syndrome that can cause paralysis in children.</li><li>Reported cases of AFM peak every other year, and an outbreak may be coming in 2020.</li><li>The <keyword id="6379474" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="cdc">CDC</keyword> warns doctors and parents to look out for sudden limb weakness in children.</li></ul><p>Doctors and parents should look out for limb weakness in children this fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.</p><p>It may be a symptom of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-acute-flaccid-myelitis-cases-record-numbers-2018-2019-7">acute flaccid myelitis</a>, a neurologic syndrome that bears similarities to polio. Cases of AFM tend to spike every other year, with the last surge occurring in 2018.</p><p>The syndrome affects mostly children and can cause permanent paralysis and respiratory failure if left untreated. During the 2018 outbreak, 98 percent of AFM patients with the syndrome were hospitalized, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6827e1.htm">a study by the CDC</a> found. The patients had an average age of 5 years old.</p><p>The CDC expects 2020 to be another peak year for AFM and released a report to warn <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> care providers of the possible outbreak.</p><p>This year's outbreak coincides with the <a href="https://www.insider.com/a-pediatricians-coronavirus-outbreak-advice-for-parents-2020-3">coronavirus pandemic</a>, which could cause potentially life-threatening delays in AFM diagnosis and treatment.</p><p><div type="image" title="AFM CDC graphic" height="675" width="1200" msid="77378873" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>How AFM differs from polio</h2><p>Although AFM symptoms resemble those of polio, specimen testing has confirmed that the syndrome is not caused by poliovirus. It is likely a different kind of enterovirus, specifically <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/enterovirus-d68-may-be-responsible-for-acute-flaccid-myelitis-outbreak-2018-10">enterovirus-D68</a>, that causes biennial <keyword id="3231463" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="outbreaks">outbreaks</keyword> of AFM, according to the CDC.</p><p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/dotw/enteroviruses/index.html">Enteroviruses</a> are common in the United States in the late summer and fall. They typically cause mild, cold-like symptoms or no symptoms at all, but in rare cases can lead to AFM or other severe illnesses.</p><h2>AFM shares symptoms with COVID-19</h2><p>That AFM <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-symptoms-cdc-list-2020-4">shares symptoms with COVID-19</a> could pose a problem for diagnosing and treating the rare syndrome.</p><p>Along with sudden limb weakness, early symptoms of AFM include difficulty walking, neck or back pain, <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-causes-fever">fever</a>, and limb pain. </p><p>Most patients experience respiratory illness or fever about a week before the onset of muscle weakness. </p><p>"We are concerned that, in the midst of a Covid pandemic, that cases might not be recognized as AFM, or we are concerned that parents might be worried about taking their child to the doctor if they develop something as serious as limb weakness," Dr. Thomas Clark, deputy director of CDC's Division of Viral Diseases, told reporters in a telebriefing.</p><h2>The CDC is preempting delays in medical care due to the pandemic</h2><p>But as AFM can progress in a matter of hours, it is important that doctors are primed to recognize the syndrome and parents seek immediate medical care if their kids begin showing symptoms.</p><p>"Recognition and early diagnosis are critical," CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, said in a press release.</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/7-year-old-texas-boy-12-days-ventilator-covid-19-2020-8">A 7-year-old Texas boy spent 12 days on a ventilator in the fight for his life. His mom says schools should stay closed.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/mobile-clinic-vaccinates-kids-during-covid-19-preventing-measles-2020-6">Inside a mobile clinic delivering vaccines to children at home to prevent an uptick in measles during the pandemic</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/signs-of-malnutrition-and-malnourishment-in-children-2019-6">5 signs that a child may be lacking the proper nutrition</a></p>

The CDC expects to see clusters of a rare polio-like illness among children this fall

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/acute-flaccid-myelitis-afm-minnesota-children-contract-rare-illness/">CBS This Morning</a></span></p><p class="caption">Four-year-old Orville Young, right, is one of the six children who have been diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis since September 20.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Six children in Minnesota have been diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis since September 20. </li><li>The disease usually presents itself at the end of a cold and then causes muscle weakness. Symptoms can worsen to paralysis and eventually death. </li><li>Minnesota usually only sees at most one case a year, so the outbreak of the polio-like illness is concerning. </li></ul><p>Six children have been diagnosed with a rare and potentially deadly polio-like disease in Minnesota, state health officials revealed Friday.</p><p>Minnesota typically sees, at most, one case of acute flaccid myelitis a year, so it's concerning that such a large group has presented with the illness at the same time. Not much is known about AFM, which mainly affects children, and it doesn't have a cure.</p><p>Kris Ehresmann with the Minnesota Department of Health told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/acute-flaccid-myelitis-afm-minnesota-children-contract-rare-illness/">CBS News</a> that the chances of a child getting AFM are "about one in a million."</p><p>All six patients are under the age of 10 and have been diagnosed with AFM since September 20. They come from all over the state, including the Twin Cities area and northeastern and central Minnesota.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-myelitis/infographic.html">CDC</a></span></p><p class="caption">The above graphic shows how AFM affects the nervous system.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The condition - which attacks the nervous system - causes symptoms including neck weakness or stiffness, drooping eyelids or a facial droop and difficulty swallowing or slurred speech. AFM can cause paralysis that can prove deadly if the patient loses the ability to breathe on their own. </p><p>It's believed that the condition can develop following a viral infection, and indeed, the parents of two of the patients say their children started to develop symptoms after getting a cold. </p><p>Four-year-old Orville Young is believed to be the first patient in this cluster. His parents, Elaine and Michael Young, said that he developed a fever in July and afterwards started to lose mobility in his right arm. </p><p>Luckily, he was diagnosed fairly quickly since a doctor at the hospital where he was treated wrote a paper on AFM. </p><p>State medical officials released a <a href="http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/2018/myelitis100518.html">statement</a> on the outbreak last week so that doctors can be on the lookout for more cases. </p><p>Parents are being told to make their children wash their hands regularly to reduce the chances of catching a viral infection. If their children start to show symptoms of AFM, they are being told to bring them to the hospital immediately. While AFM doesn't have a cure, the symptoms can be treated and in most cases death can be avoided. </p><p>As for Orville, he has regained a lot of his mobility and is back to playing video games. However, he continues to be in therapy and faces possible surgery in the future. </p><p>"He's remarkably, like, able to wrap his head around this as it's going on. He's kind of like, one day at a time, whereas we're worried about the whole rest of his life," Orville's father, Michael, said. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nikon-small-world-winning-footage-microscopic-world-around-us-2018-9">Award-winning footage of the microscopic world around us</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Minnesota is grappling with an outbreak of a rare polio-like illness that has infected 6 children so far

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Medical researchers across the country have formed an informal network to figure out what's causing an outbreak of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) cases.</li><li>So far this year, state health departments have referred 155 potential AFM cases to the CDC.</li><li>AFM, a polio-like disease, can cause paralysis and mostly affects young children.</li><li>Doctors and researchers who have been treating patients with AFM say they believe a virus called EV-D68 may be responsible for the recent uptick in cases.</li></ul><p>Doctors and medical researchers believe a relatively harmless virus is to blame for the recent outbreak of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) cases in the United States, according to a new report from <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-says-polio-disease-puzzling-these-doctors-disagree-n924471">NBC News</a>.</p><p>AFM is a disease that affects mostly young children, and causes polio-like symptoms. It usually starts with cold-like symptoms, and progresses to causing paralysis in the limbs. AFM can prove deadly if the patient loses the ability to breathe for themselves.</p><p>So far this year, state health departments have referred <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/acute-flaccid-myelitis-outbreak-spreads-across-us-2018-10">155 potential AFM cases to the CDC</a>, which has confirmed 62 of those cases so far.</p><p>While the CDC won't say what is causing the new outbreak, NBC News spoke to doctors and researchers treating patients, and they believe the uptick in cases is likely due to a virus called enterovirus D68, or EV-D68.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/ev-d68.html">CDC</a>, EV-D68 is a non-polio enterovirus that commonly circulates around the US during summer and fall. EV-D68 usually causes mild symptoms including sneezing, a runny nose, cough, body aches, and muscle aches. In severe cases, it can cause respiratory issues.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><h2>A reappearing issue</h2><p>The first time that AFM caused a public concern was back in 2014, when there was an outbreak of 120 cases that coincided with an outbreak of EV-D68 as well.</p><p>Similar spikes in both have been seen about every two years since then, the experts told NBC.</p><p>While the CDC says there hasn't been enough evidence to link the two, the doctors interviewed say many of their AFM patients presented with EV-D68.</p><p>"It does seem that enterovirus D68 has been present every other year," Dr. Gregory Storch of Washington University in St. Louis told NBC. "Each of those times, there has been an increase in acute flaccid myelitis that occurred at the same time as the EV-D68 activity."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>Dr. Ken Tyler, a neurologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, says he and his colleagues have been studying the way EV-D68 affects mice, and found that it can impact the nervous system.</p><p>"We know that enterovirus D68 in mice can produce an illness very much like what you see in children," Tyler said. "You can see enterovirus particles in the motor neurons."</p><p>But Tyler admits that's still not enough to blame EV-D68 for this most recent AFM outbreak, and that more research needs to be done.</p><h2>What this means for parents</h2><p>Since AFM typically affects young children, with the average age of patients this year being 4, parents are being told to make sure their kids wash their hands frequently and to protect them from mosquito bites to lower the risk of spreading disease.</p><p>If their child starts to present with cold-like symptoms, parents should closely monitor their symptoms to see if they develop any paralysis. If they do, they should bring them to the hospital immediately.</p><p>While AFM doesn't have a cure, early detection appears to be helping children recover faster.</p><h2><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-says-polio-disease-puzzling-these-doctors-disagree-n924471">Read the full report from NBC News »</a></h2>

Doctors think they know what's causing the outbreak of a rare polio-like illness across the US

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/rare-illness-leaves-local-boy-partially-paralyzed-mother-says/849106519">WSB-TV</a></span></p><p class="caption">Three-year-old Carter Abernathy is among the dozens of patients across the country who have been diagnosed with AFM.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Acute Flaccid Myelitis, a polio-like illness affecting mostly young children, is spreading across the US.</li><li>Officials at the Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday the number of confirmed and suspected cases has spiked in the last month, with now up to 127 cases in 22 states.</li><li>AFM affects the nervous system, causing paralysis that can lead to potentially deadly respiratory failure.</li></ul><p>The outbreak of a polio-like disease called <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-myelitis/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Acute Flaccid Myelitis</a> (AFM) keeps growing, and medical experts are still baffled as to what is causing the spike of the very rare illness.</p><p>Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/t1016-flaccid-myelitis.html">conference call</a> on Tuesday, revealing that the number of suspected AFM cases has grown to 127, with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/10/16/paralyzing-polio-like-illness-mainly-affecting-children-confirmed-states-cdc-says/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.6347de1f60f1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">62 of those cases confirmed in 22 states</a>. That's a stark increase from September 20, when there were just 28 confirmed cases in 16 states.</p><p><a href="https://www.thisisinsider.com/children-polio-like-illness-acute-flaccid-myelitis-signs-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AFM is a condition that mostly affects young children</a>, with 90% of the cases in this recent outbreak affecting those under the age of 18. The average patient age is four years old.</p><p>The disease can often start with the common cold, but patients will then begin to lose control of their arms and legs. Especially bad cases can deteriorate to potentially deadly respiratory failure. Last year, one person died from AFM in the US.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-myelitis/infographic.html">CDC</a></span></p><p class="caption">The above graphic shows how AFM affects the nervous system.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Medical experts still don't know much about the rare disease, which strikes just <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-myelitis/about-afm.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one in 1 million Americans</a>. It's believed that viruses like polio, West Nile, and various enteroviruses (which cause the common cold) have been linked to AFM.</p><p>The children involved in this outbreak have tested negative for polio and West Nile, and there are no other common viruses that seem to link them together.</p><p>"We have not been able to find a cause for the majority of these AFM cases," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on the CDC conference call Tuesday. "The reason why we don't know about AFM - and I am frustrated that despite all of our efforts we haven't been able to identify the cause of this mystery illness - we continue to investigate"</p><p>The CDC wouldn't specify which states have seen cases, but <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> coverage shows the impacted states include Washington, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/minnesota-grapples-with-outbreak-of-acute-flaccid-myelitis-2018-10">Minnesota</a>, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado, New York, Georgia, and Massachusetts.</p><p>One thing researchers have noticed is that since 2014, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/10/16/paralyzing-polio-like-illness-mainly-affecting-children-confirmed-states-cdc-says/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.6347de1f60f1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">number of cases seems to spike</a> every two years in August or September, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/10/16/paralyzing-polio-like-illness-mainly-affecting-children-confirmed-states-cdc-says/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.6347de1f60f1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Washington Post</a>.</p><p>The CDC officials said they decided to speak out about the outbreak on Tuesday so that parents can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-myelitis/about-afm.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">be on the look out for the symptoms</a>. There is no known cure for the disease, but children who are caught with the condition earlier on seem to be regaining at least some movement with intense physical therapy.</p><p>The officials said that parents can try to prevent the disease by making their kids regularly wash their hands, keep them up to date on their vaccinations, and spray them with insect repellent when they go outdoors to prevent mosquito bites.</p><p>"As a parent myself, I understand what it is like to be scared for your child," Messonnier said. "Parents need to know that AFM is very rare, even with the increase in cases that we are seeing now. We recommend seeking medical care right away if you or your child develop sudden weakness of the arms or legs."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-caffeine-does-body-brain-2017-3">Here's what caffeine does to your body and brain</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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A mysterious illness that was paralyzing kids has been stopped in its tracks during the pandemic

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The CDC expects to see clusters of a rare polio-like illness among children this fall

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Minnesota is grappling with an outbreak of a rare polio-like illness that has infected 6 children so far

Ashley Collman

Doctors think they know what's causing the outbreak of a rare polio-like illness across the US

Ashley Collman

Health officials warn that a rare polio-like disease affecting children continues to spread, growing to a suspected 127 cases in 22 states

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