CDC is urging parents to be on alert about a rare neurological disorder

The CDC is warning of a spike in cases of acute flaccid myelitis, a rare neurological disorder that mostly infects children. AFM — which causes muscle weakness and can progress to permanent paralysis — peaks during the late summer and fall months every two years, and 2020 is expected to be another such year. In 2018, for instance, there were a record 238 patients who were diagnosed with AFM, almost double the number of cases since 2014, when the CDC began tracking the disease. The CDC is especially asking parents to be on alert because about 10% of those who were diagnosed with AFM in 2018 were not hospitalized until four or more days after limb weakness set in. “Recognition and early diagnosis are critical," CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a statement.