Georgia public health officials confirm fourth case of polio-like illness
Georgia Department of Public Health said fourth patient with acute flaccid myelitis is a child
Special Logo
Special Logo
By Andy Miller
ATLANTA — Officials with the Georgia Department of Public Health said earlier this week that a fourth case of a rare polio-like illness had been confirmed in the state, with two more cases considered probable.
The DPH did not give identifying information about the fourth patient with acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, but said that the person is a child.
Previously, three children in the state have been reported to have AFM. There is no known single cause of AFM, whose symptoms include weakness in the arms or legs, and sometimes paralysis.
Health officials said the condition affects the nervous system, specifically the area of the spinal cord called gray matter. It causes the muscles and reflexes in the body to become weak or even paralyzed. Cases of AFM are characterized by a sudden onset of arm or leg weakness and loss of muscle tone and reflexes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noticed an apparent increase in this type of acute flaccid paralysis in children in 2014, at the same time as a nationwide enterovirus outbreak. Since that time, the CDC has requested that states report suspected cases.
Last week, the CDC said that, based on reports of AFM nationally through Nov. 30, it appears the number of cases has peaked and will continue to decline through the end of the year. So far this year, 134 cases of AFM have been confirmed in 33 states.
Most of the latest confirmed AFM cases occurred in September and October, the CDC said.
Nancy Nydam, spokeswoman for DPH said that “because we do not know enough about AFM and because it takes a long time to actually confirm cases, we can’t say that it has or has not peaked.’’
The CDC has seen a pattern of higher numbers of confirmed cases every two years. In 2014, the agency confirmed about 120 cases of AFM. The next year, 22 were confirmed. The number of confirmed cases increased to 149 in 2016, but the next year, the number of confirmed cases was 33.
Health officials said AFM’s symptoms are likened to those caused by polio, which was once a major public health threat in the United States. Polio was eradicated in the U.S. due to the polio vaccine, and the CDC recently emphasized that none of the children who developed AFM symptoms had the polio virus.
For more information on AFM, visit https://www.cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-myelitis/afm-surveillance.html.
Andy Miller is editor and CEO of Georgia Health News.
Related Articles
Dougherty Jail graduates first class of female GED recipients
“It was an escape. I can say this has been challenging. I want to express my gratitude for being able to attend this program.”
From cotton to cloud: In the data center debate, is rural Georgia once again being asked to carry the cost?
Across much of rural Georgia, the abandoned cotton warehouses and shrinking tax bases remain — enduring reminders that industries built to serve distant markets do not necessarily stay rooted in the communities that first sustained them.
Dawson Council approves $400,000 lifeline in emergency meeting as financial accountability remains elusive
Less than a week after city officials publicly acknowledged the City of Dawson cannot continue operating without additional financing, the Dawson City Council convened a hastily called emergency meeting Tuesday evening and unanimously approved authority to borrow up to $400,000 through a tax anticipation note.
