The CDC is warning doctors that the 'season' for a mysterious, polio-like illness that mainly strikes children and debilitated over 200 people last year is about to begin.
occurred last year, with the illness debilitating 233 people in 41 states across the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Doctors and other clinicians across the United States play a critical role," CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat said during a media briefing Tuesday."We ask for your help with early recognition of patients with AFM symptoms, prompt specimen collection for testing, and immediate reporting of suspected AFM cases to health departments," she added.
AFM is a rare but serious disease that attacks the spinal cord, causing the muscles and reflexes in the body to become weak. "I want to say that we cannot assume that it's a long-term pattern [outbreaks every other year], because we've really only been tracking this since 2014," she said."We want clinicians and parents to be ready for a possible significant outbreak this year."
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