Eight children have been hospitalized in western Washington with acute neurological illnesses that have polio-like symptoms. The CDC, state and county health officials and Seattle Children's Hospital, where the patients were admitted, are conducting a collaborative investigation into the cluster of cases.
Officials are trying to determine if the eight cases are acute flaccid myelitis, a condition that affects the spinal cord and induces paralysis, facial droop, difficulty moving the eyes and slurred speech. This year, the CDC has reported an uptick in AFM with 50 cases thus far across 24 states. In 2015, there were 21 confirmed cases of AFM.
The eight children in question have not been officially diagnosed with AFM, but they did display symptoms associated with the illness: all have experienced a loss of strength and movement capabilities in one or more limbs.
Many pathogens are linked to AFM, including common viruses that cause colds, sore throats and respiratory infections. The conditions can also be caused by poliovirus, non-polio enteroviruses and mosquito-borne viruses like West Nile and Zika. The condition is not contagious, and occurs when the viruses enter the central nervous system.
"At Seattle Children's, patient safety is our top priority and parents should rest assured that it is safe to bring their children to the hospital," said Mark Del Beccaro, MD, CMO at Seattle Children's Hospital. "We are following our standard infection control protocols, including putting patients with symptoms of active respiratory infections in isolation so they do not have contact with any other patients."
Three of the eight cases are currently hospitalized, the five others have been released. The degree of recovery varies from patient to patient, but full recoveries are atypical.
Scott Lindquist, MD, a state epidemiologist, told The Seattle Times there is no evidence suggesting these cases are related to a shared source and that he is not convinced all will cases will be diagnosed as AFM.
However, Dr. Lindquist added, "I am concerned... to be very frank about it, it is very unusual to have a clustering of these cases so close together, and I'm concerned we don't have answers yet."
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