JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) - A rare polio-like illness has been confirmed in a Florida girl, the state's first case of acute flaccid myelitis, television station WFTS reported.
AFM is an extremely rare condition that causes muscles and reflexes to become weak.
Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville confirmed that the 3-year-old girl was recently diagnosed with AFM, WFTS reported.
AFM is now reported in 22 states across the U.S., federal health officials said.
WFTV reported that the child's mother, Reba Faircloth, said her daughter started showing illness symptoms Thursday and has been in the Intensive Care Unit since Sunday.
More information about AFM is provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said it will not be releasing a list of states with AFM cases at this time due to privacy issues, but states are volunteering information to the agency about those diagnosed.
Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the CDC is investigating 127 case with 62 confirmed, and it seems to be hitting children more than other age groups.
She encouraged parents to wash their children’s hands, use insect repellents and update vaccinations.
