Data Visualization: Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM)

Clinicians: Timing is Key for AFM

Recognize AFM early
Be alert for onset of acute flaccid limb weakness and consider AFM on your differential diagnosis

Collect specimens & then get MRI
Collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, stool, and nasopharyngeal (NP) swab as soon as possible, and handle and store specimens properly

Rapidly report to health department
If the MRI shows a spinal lesion with some gray matter involvement, alert the health department and send specimens and medical records

Diagnosis & medical management
Refer to specialists, monitor for signs of worsening symptoms, hospitalize if indicated, and begin treatment and rehabilitation

Putting Together the Pieces of AFM

WHO
570 AFM cases, mostly children, since 2014

WHEN
AFM outbreaks have occurred every two years starting in 2014, in late summer and early fall

WHERE
48 states and D.C. have had AFM cases since 2014

WHAT
CDC believes viruses, including enteroviruses, play a role in AFM

SOURCE: CDC Vital Signs, July 2019