A mysterious, paralyzing disease hits the US

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The CDC warns against a new illness that can cause paralysis in children, BUT A DESEASE WITH NO KNOWN CAUSE!

A mysterious polio-like illness is on the rise in the U.S., mysterious polio-like illness usa, mysterious paralysing desease usa
A mysterious polio-like illness is on the rise in the U.S., mainly impacting young children. By Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning against a mysterious new illness that’s appeared in children in 22 states this year and is quickly spreading across the US. [Vox]

So far, the CDC has received 127 reports of suspected cases of the disease, which is called acute flaccid myelitis. AFM is a polio-like condition that affects the nervous system and may cause paralysis. [Twitter]

Ninety percent of the afflicted patients are under the age of 18. The cause of AFM is still unknown, as patients have not tested positive for polio, but doctors suspect it’s a virus. Though there’s no vaccine to treat it so far, most children recover quickly. [ABC News]

AFM first grabbed attention in 2014 with 120 reported cases. Yet the condition indicates an every-other-year pattern, with the number of afflicted patients dropping every year and spiking the following one. [NBC News]

The 2014 increase coincided with a national outbreak of a severe respiratory illness caused by another non-polio virus, the enterovirus D68. People are more likely to get infected by D68 during the fall. [CNN]

Minnesota, which previously saw only one case of AFM a year, now has seven confirmed cases of the virus, according to state officials. [KNSI]

We are creating some weird superbugs that are going to kill all of us (or let’s stay positive… almost all of us)!

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