State health officials are investigating eight cases of children experiencing polio-like symptoms caused by a neurological condition called acute flaccid myelitis.
Health officials announced the investigation on Oct. 28, after eight children from four Washington counties were admitted to Seattle Children’s Hospital with acute neurological illness. On Tuesday, the state announced a ninth possible case from a fifth county. And Friday, health officials confirmed eight of the children did have AFM. Health officials determined the ninth case — a boy who died — did not have AFM.
No Clark County children are included in the cases.
The state investigation is one of many taking place across the country as AFM cases are on the rise. As of September, 89 people in 33 states were confirmed to have the illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, 21 people in 16 states were diagnosed with the condition. Washington had no cases last year.
Even with the increase and Washington cases, Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and public health director, stressed that this is still a rare condition. Less than one person in a million contracts the illness, according to the CDC.
“I just want people to put it into perspective,” Melnick said.
“We don’t have any evidence to say people should start panicking,” he added. “It’s still really rare.”
Still, the condition is concerning to local, state and federal health officials, largely because its exact cause is unknown.
Many viruses and germs linked to AFM are common, such as those the cause colds, sore throats and respiratory infections. It can also be caused by poliovirus, non-polio enteroviruses, mosquito-borne viruses — such as Zika or West Nile — and autoimmune conditions. Acute flaccid myelitis can affect adults but is more likely among children because they haven’t built up as much immunity to germs as adults, according to the health department.
The condition affects the nervous system, specifically the spinal cord. Symptoms typically include sudden weakness in one or more arms or legs, along with loss of muscle tone and decreased or absent reflexes. The severity of the symptoms can range from mild weakness of one limb to the inability to move any limbs, according to the state health department.
In Washington, eight children between the ages of 3 and 14 were admitted to Seattle Children’s Hospital with a range of symptoms, but all had a loss of strength or movement in one or more arms or legs. The children are from five counties: three from King, two from Franklin, and one child from each Pierce, Whatcom and Snohomish.
Three of the eight children are currently hospitalized at Seattle Children’s; five have been released. None are facing life-threatening symptoms, health officials said in a press conference Friday.
Health officials have not found any commonalities between the cases to suggest how the children contracted the illness.
There is no treatment for AFM, other than to treat symptoms, and people who develop the condition may or may not regain movement in their limbs.
In Clark County, Melnick issued a health advisory Monday to physicians and other health care providers. The advisory includes information about the condition and asks providers to be on the lookout for symptoms. Still, Melnick doesn’t expect to see any local cases.
“I wouldn’t be shocked if we had a case in Clark County, but again, we’re talking about something pretty rare,” he said. “It would be unusual to get a case in Clark County.”
