CDC Still Stumped by Mystery Paralysis in Kids
Disease detectives say they're still stumped by what causes a rare, polio-like paralyzing condition in kids and say they don't have a No. 1 suspect.
They've tested kids with acute flaccid myelitis for more than 250 different viruses and say no single one appears to be a major cause of the condition, which can leave patients disabled for months.
Not only that, but they can't say who's more at risk or how cases tend to progress, Tracy Ayers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a meeting of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service.
"We have tested for over 250 different organisms that could be causing this," Ayers told reporters. "We are also expanding to look at non-infectious diseases."
"After a decrease in 2015, acute flaccid myelitis cases increased during 2016 raising concerns of a resurgence," Ayers and colleagues wrote in a brief summary.
The CDC says that 138 people in 37 states had the condition in 2016, with five more cases reported so far this year. "Even with an increase in cases in 2016, acute flaccid myelitis remains a very rare disease (less than one in a million)," CDC added.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cdc-still-stumped-by-mystery-paralysis-in-kids/ar-BBAhz31?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp
