A Rare Condition Has Turned up in East Texas

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Health Services reports that 16 cases of a rare spinal condition have been reported in the state this year. One of those cases was in Smith County. The condition is acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). It is a very rare condition that affects a person’s spinal cord marked by the sudden onset of weakness in the arms or legs. Less than one in a million people in the United States will get AFM each year. According to a news release from the state, there is no specific treatment for AFM, and the cause is unknown. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to determine what causes the condition. Possible causes include viruses, environmental toxins and genetic disorders. AFM is not required to be reported, but DSHS is asking all healthcare providers to report suspected cases of AFM to their local health departments.

State health officials say AFM can be difficult to diagnose because it shares symptoms with several other neurologic conditions. All suspected cases of AFM are reviewed by the CDC to determine if they meet the case definition. It can take about a month for the status of a case to be determined. According to CDC data, there is a pattern of increased AFM cases in late summer to early fall of every other year beginning in August 2014. Texas providers have reported 43 cases of AFM since 2014. Most of the cases occur in children.