ABOVE: Researchers report that acute flaccid myelitis may be caused by an enterovirus, the viral family that contains pathogens such as poliovirus (pictured).
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A mysterious, polio-like condition that leads to paralysis in children likely involves an enterovirus, according to research published last week (June 10) as a preprint in bioRxiv. Researchers linked acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a rare disease that’s been on the rise in the US since 2014, to a virus called EV-D68 and related pathogens, although it’s not clear whether this group of viruses is the sole cause.
“It is a very good paper,” Stephen Elledge, a Harvard Medical School geneticist who was not involved in the work but helped develop the method off which it was based, tells STAT. The study “demonstrates clearly and convincingly what others had some data for that were not conclusive, that AFM is likely to be caused by enteroviruses.”
AFM ...
