With an increase in cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a debilitating, polio-like disease that has been affecting children in New York and across the country, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today called on Congress to immediately provide emergency funding for research, treatment, and prevention efforts against this disease. AFM is a rare condition that targets the nervous system, specifically the spinal cord, and can cause serious muscle weakness or paralysis.
There is no known cause or treatment for this disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed or are investigating hundreds of suspected cases of AFM in 46 states and in DC. 90 percent of cases have been in children under the age of 18, with the majority of patients between the ages of two and eight.