US CDC alerts parents & healthcare experts of polio-like outbreak among children this year

The United States has issued an alert to parents and healthcare providers for an expected outbreak of polio-like disease Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) in the next four months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a release. Reiterating a warning in CDC’s latest ‘Vital Signs’ report, the release, as per ANI, stated, “Parents and doctors should suspect AFM in patients with sudden limb weakness, especially during August through November. Recent respiratory illness or fever and the presence of neck or back pain or any neurologic symptom should heighten their concern.”

AFM is a medical emergency and patients are advised to seek immediate consultation from medical professionals even in areas where COVID-19 cases have increased. CDC said that due to social distancing measures put in place to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s AFM outbreak could be delayed beyond August in the best-case scenario. It added that AFM cases, which is a neurological disease, could be fewer than expected.

AFM outbreak in 2018 left nearly 95% children sick

AFM causes paralysis and it has surfaced during at least two years since 2014, with the largest outbreak being recorded in 2018 that left 238 people sick in 42 states. The release reportedly said that nearly 95 per cent of the AFM patients in the biggest outbreak were children. However, there is no cure or treatment for the disease. Early diagnosis of AFM increases the effectiveness of measures to treat the symptoms. These measures include physical therapy that help the patients to regain the use of paralysed limbs, said CDC.

"Pediatricians and frontline providers in emergency departments and urgent care centers should be prepared to quickly recognize symptoms of AFM and immediately hospitalize patients. Timing is critical at each step - prompt AFM recognition leads to optimal medical management," the release said.

Meanwhile, on August 18, CDC also announced a new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics that, it explained, “will bring together next-generation public health data, expert disease modellers, public health emergency responders, and high-quality communications, to meet the needs of decision-makers. The new centre will accelerate access to and use of data for public health decision-makers who need the information to mitigate the effects of disease threats, such as social and economic disruption.”

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