acute flaccid myelitis

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CDC Warns Parents About Paralyzing Illness Affecting Kids

They're urged to be on the lookout for symptoms of acute flaccid myelitis

(Newser) - Parents should be on alert for symptoms of COVID-19 in their kids—but also those of acute flaccid myelitis , a rare, life-threatening neurological disease leading to paralysis in young children. Cases of the polio-like condition seem to spike every other year, and the largest recorded US outbreak came in 2018,...

Another Spike in Cases of Mysterious Illness That Paralyzes Kids

Top federal health official says 120 cases of accute flaccid myelitis this year

(Newser) - There has been a spike in cases of the mysterious polio-like illness that mainly affects children, with a top federal health official announcing Tuesday that more than 120 confirmed or possible cases have been documented so far in 2018, the Washington Post reports. Most of the cases of acute flaccid...

Rare Polio-Like Illness Strikes 6 Minnesota Children

It's likely caused by a viral infection by doctors aren't sure

(Newser) - A rare condition known for its polio-like effects has been diagnosed in six Minnesota children since mid-September. Per CNN , the condition is called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, and damages the body's nervous system. While uncommon, AFM is serious and can lead to paralysis or even death. The state...

Mysterious Illness Paralyzing Kids Across US Again

Acute flaccid myelitis makes a comeback after no new cases were reported in 2015

(Newser) - It was a quiet 2015 after dozens of people, mostly children, fell gravely ill in 2014 from a mysterious condition called acute flaccid myelitis, which first presents as a cold but quickly escalates to polio-like symptoms, including paralysis. It is quiet no longer as the Centers for Disease Control confirms...

Few Kids Fully Recover From Rare Disease On the Rise

50 cases of AFM confirmed in US in 2016

(Newser) - At first, it seemed like 4-year-old Laura Carson was suffering from a simple headache. Then came rapid shallow breathing, a tremor, double vision. Within days in August 2014, she was "a limp rag doll," reports Today —but it took doctors some time to diagnose her with acute...

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