Health officials warn that a rare polio-like disease affecting children continues to spread, growing to a suspected 127 cases in 22 states

WSB-TV

• Acute Flaccid Myelitis, a polio-like illness affecting mostly young children, is spreading across the US.
• Officials at the Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday the number of confirmed and suspected cases has spiked in the last month, with now up to 127 cases in 22 states.
• AFM affects the nervous system, causing paralysis that can lead to potentially deadly respiratory failure.

The outbreak of a polio-like disease called Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) keeps growing, and medical experts are still baffled as to what is causing the spike of the very rare illness.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a conference call on Tuesday, revealing that the number of suspected AFM cases has grown to 127, with 62 of those cases confirmed in 22 states. That’s a stark increase from September 20, when there were just 28 confirmed cases in 16 states.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: 3 compelling reasons why we haven’t found aliens yet

See Also:

• Here’s how to win the lottery, according to a Romanian-born mathematician who hacked the system, won 14 times, and retired on a remote, tropical island
• Canada has legalized marijuana — this map shows every US state that has legalized marijuana
• Here’s where you can legally consume marijuana in the US in 2018

SEE ALSO: People in at least 22 states have come down with a rare polio-like illness this year — here’s what to know about it

DON’T MISS: https://www.businessinsider.com/minnesota-grapples-with-outbreak-of-acute-flaccid-myelitis-2018-10