CDC Expects 2020 Outbreak of Rare, Polio-Like Condition Mostly Affecting Children

CDC Expects 2020 Outbreak of Rare, Polio-Like Condition Mostly Affecting Children
A podium with the logo for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the Tom Harkin Global Communications Center in Atlanta, Ga., in a file photo. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Isabel van Brugen
By Isabel van Brugen, Reporter
Updated:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Aug. 4 that it expects another outbreak this year of a rare, polio-like condition that mostly affects children.

The CDC has said it does not know what causes acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), which affects the nervous system and triggers weakness and even paralysis in one or more limbs. Cases of the condition have spiked every 2 years in the United States since 2014, affecting more Americans with each outbreak.

Isabel van Brugen
Isabel van Brugen
Reporter
Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist. She holds a master's in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
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