AFM also known by acute flaccid myelitis is a rare kind of disease that occurs in young children in late summer and winter in 2020.The Center of Disease Control and Prevention issued a call to action to warn of potential outbreak of this end of summer and winter of a rare but potentially lethal disease,that affects young children where seeking medical attention right away could make all the difference
Acute Flaccid Myelitis” is a medical emergency that requires immediate recognition and care”urged CDC director Robert Redfield on the conference call Tuesday.AFM is a rare,rapid onset neurological disease that affect spinal cord and lead to paralysis.Symptom of this disease include difficulty walking,arm and neck weakness,limb pain,back pain.AFM could cause paralysis over the course of hours to days and need ventilators to breathe.Children are mostly affected by this disease.so, parents and being asked to seek medical attention if their children develop sudden arm and leg weakness.Most children with AFM will have fever and respiratory illness about six days before weakness occurs.For this reason AFM has been associated with viruses, one specially called Enterovirus D68.But it is clear why some children get AFM and other does not.”we have learned a lot but we have a lot to learn about AFM..we are working at CDC and collaborating with NIH on a couple of prospective large studies,which will help us to better understand the risk factors of AFM”said Redfield.
CDC began tracking the cases of AFM in 2014 and the wave of cases have occurred every other year since then.In 2018,US experienced third and largest out break of 238 cases of AFM in 42 states between August and November.The average age was just 5 years.At least 98percent of those children were hospitalized and over have of them were in intensive care unit.Most parents sought medical attention in the day one of developing AFM symptoms while concerning 10 percent were not hospitalized after four days of weakness.Many children will recover to their usual health after having AFM but some of the children will have permanent disability.
With 2020 season peaked,AFM is priority for CDC as it prepares for an outbreak this year.Redfield said “as a parent and grandparents my heart goes out to the families affected by AFM”.parent should look out for any sudden weakness of arms or legs and pain in these areas,the neck or back pain.If your child recently had a cold or fever this should heighten your suspicions for AFM.If suspecting AFM,health care providers should order in for MRI in order to distinguish AFM from other neurological conditions.”we expect that AFM will likely have another peak in 2020.That said,it is still unclear if COVID 19’s recommended social distancing measures and attention to mask wearing and hand hygiene will impact how much Enterovirus we en d of seeing,along with cases of AFM,”Glatter said.The same hygiene precautions for COVID 19 apply to virus caused by AFM.As some of the symptoms of Covid 19 overlap with AFM,parent should be on high alert this season.ACCORDING TO ABC NEWS.
