Acute flaccid myelitis in the USA

This autumn, the USA has seen another spike in cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a rare and poorly understood condition that causes polio-like paralysis, mostly in children and adolescents, and rarely in adults. The condition is typified by damage to peripheral nerves in the spinal column, resulting a dense, floppy paralysis and a loss of muscle tone in the limbs, head, and neck. The severity of the paralysis varies from case to case, with some patients exhibiting minor weaknesses in their limbs, while others have difficulty breathing, in some cases leading to respiratory failure.