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So far this year, there have been 127 confirmed and suspected cases of acute flaccid myelitis, a condition in which one or more limbs becomes paralyzed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a news conference Tuesday (October 16). The incidences, 62 of which are confirmed, are spread across 22 states.
Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) resembles polio in that it causes paralysis and mostly affects children, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ruled out polio as a potential cause, STAT reports. “There is a lot we don’t know about AFM, and I’m frustrated that despite all of our efforts, we haven’t been able to identify the cause of this mystery illness,” Nancy Messonnier, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters, according to STAT.
In AFM, the gray matter of the spinal cord gets damaged, leading ...
