Acute flaccid myelitis(AFM)

News:Recently, the Acute flaccid myelitis(AFM) which is referred to as a ‘polio-like condition’ has been tested negative for the polio virus.

Facts:

About Acute flaccid myelitis(AFM):

• Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a neurologic disease.It is rare but a serious disease.It affects an area of the spinal cord called gray matter.
• The exact cause of the disease hasn’t been identified but it is believed that some viruses may be behind it.
• The symptoms of AFM includes muscle weakness, weak limbs, pain, and absent reflexes.These symptoms look much like those of polio.
• The most serious complication of AFM is respiratory failure if the muscles involved with breathing becomes weakened.
• Most cases of Acute flaccid myelitis(AFM) have been in children but it can also develop in adults.
• While in the US,the incidence rate of AFM is 0.71 per million.But in India it was 120 per million population in 2010.

Additional information:

About Polio:

• Polio is an acute infectious disease caused by polio virus.The virus is a human enterovirus of the Picornaviridae
• There are three types of Polio Virus: 1,2,3-Single stranded RNA virus Natural or Wild Polio Virus (WPVS).
• It is transmitted from one person to another by oral contact with secretions or faecal material from an infected person. 
• It attacks the central nervous system through the bloodstream and damage the cells and paralyse the victim.
• India was declared polio free in 2014 and the last case was reported in January 2011.