A mysterious polio-like illness that hospitalised more than a 100 children has baffled doctors who do not understand the cause.
Health experts have been unable to understand how a rare virus called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) manifests, according to a report by the Daily Mail. Doctors cannot even determine who is most at risk of the disease. The outbreak of the virus in 2014 affected 130 children. Many of them who contracted the virus were left partially paralysed and have had difficulty walking, the report added.
The syndrome caused by fever affects the spinal cord which can lead to paralysis. Struggling to move the limbs, face, tongue and eyes are the warning signs of AFM. AFM patients also begin to lose control of one limb or in some cases the whole body. However, they maintain control of their bowel and bladder functions and sensory.
So far, there have been five cases of AFM reported in 2017. While the cause has not yet been determined, CDC reports the illness is similar to those caused by herpesvirus, enteroviruses, West Nile virus and adenovirus.
