The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it has confirmed the first case of Acute Flaccid Myelitis in Michigan for this year. It is a child from Wayne County, according to the MDHHS.
This year alone, the Centers for Disease Control had confirmed 134 cases of AFM in 33 states, mostly in children. It's still a rare, but serious diseasep and less than one in two million children in the U.S. will get AFM annually.
According got the MDHHS, they are still investigating seven suspected cases of AFM in Michigan.
The condition affects the nervous system and can cause the muscles and reflexes in the body to become weak. most patients report having a mild respiratory illness or fever consistent with a viral infection before developing AFM.
According to the CDC, there is no specific treatment for AFM, and because they don't know the cause, there is no specific action to take to prevent AFM.
Most people will have sudden onset of arm or leg weakness and loss of muscle tone and reflexes. Some people, in addition to arm or leg weakness, will have:
- facial droop/weakness,
- difficulty moving the eyes,
- drooping eyelids, or
- difficulty with swallowing or slurred speech
To learn more about the disease, visit the CDC website.
