A very strange disease which resembles the polio one has affected a lot of children from the US. Unfortunately, the medical officials announced that the number of suffering children is still rising. According to the Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC), responsible for monitoring Acute Flaccid Myelitis, claims that this terrible disease was registered to affect 24 more states, affecting people from whom 90 percent of them were children.
- A polio-like disease is affecting a lot of children from 24 states.
- Doctors cannot identify the cause of this illness.
Dr. Aaron Michael Milstone, a professor at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, has asserted that this polio-like disease terrified a lot of families with perfectly healthy children who got sick over the night. The AFM disease is similar to polio in some respects. Firstly, both diseases target the spinal cord nervous system. Secondly, the symptoms of both illnesses indicate paralysis, respiratory problems and the weakness of the limbs.
Dr. Milestone asserts that this disease was revealed almost two years ago. He finds Enterovirus D68 to be the cause of the illness. Some of the enteroviruses only cause minor diseases, but the severe condition can emerge from symptoms which could be presumed to indicate a bad cold. The effects that this disease could cause in children’s immune systems are devastating.
Based on a report conducted by CDC, in 2014 there were 120 AFM examples registered in over 34 countries. In 2015, there appeared 21 more cases, and in August this year, 50 other cases struck the world of medicine. Still, doctors don’t understand the cause of the severe paralysis. They argue that some children who were affected in 2014 have managed to recover, but others are still affected today. It is frustrating for the parents of those children who have to wait for a cure, a cure which seems to be a little late.
Milstone has an important advice to give to concerned parents. He suggested the implementing of some good health measures, avoiding contact with affected people. They should also be alert if their children experience limb weakness. This is one of the first symptoms which are given by this strange disease. If a kid feels his or hers legs weak, they may not be able to hold their hands up or to walk properly. Parents have to call a pediatrician right away.
What is your opinion on the fact that doctors didn’t yet discover a cure or even the main causes of the disease? Is it acceptable for doctors to not know what is happening?
Image courtesy of: pixabay
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.