ACHD: Confirmed Cases Of Polio-Like Illness AFM Grows To 5
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The total number of confirmed cases of Acute Flaccid Myelitis in Allegheny County has grown to five.
Earlier this month, the Allegheny County Health Department said they were treating three confirmed cases of AFM and three suspected cases.
The Health Department announced Tuesday that two suspected cases in patients currently being treated at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have now been confirmed.
Of the five total confirmed cases, four of the patients are Allegheny County residents and one patient is a Washington County resident. All of the patients who are residents of Allegheny County are from different parts of the area.
Officials have not been able to find a connection between the cases.
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The Centers for Disease Control is still reviewing one suspected case in another Allegheny County resident.
Acute Flaccid Myelitis is a rare disease that affects a person's spinal cord and nervous system. Experts have no idea what causes it, but they know it comes from one of the more than 100 enteroviruses. There is no known cure or vaccine.
Doctors say the first sign of AFM in a child is usually weakness of one or both arms or legs.
More information can be found on the Health Department's website here: alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/AFM-Alert.aspx
