February 24, 2014
USA Today (2/24, Weise) reports a polio-like condition has affected 25 children in the state of California, paralyzing many of their limbs. After emerging in 2012, the state has begun cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although no cases have yet been reported outside the state. According to California Department of Public Health Chief of the Encephalitis and Special Investigation Section Carol Glaser, “The California Department of Public Health has asked health care providers to report any polio-like cases they might identify and send specimens so that we can better assess the situation.”
The AP (2/24) reports California Department of Public Health officials are concerned about the recent illness because the US eradicated polio and some patients had not yet been overseas.
The Los Angeles Times (2/24, Brown) adds Glaser has theorized a virus could be responsible for the condition, but other health officials have ruled out polio as a possibility.
NBC News (2/24, Aleccia) writes that there is still “no widespread cause for alarm,” but University of California, San Francisco, worry about the difficulty children have had recovering from the condition and will present a case series at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Philadelphia in April. The paper also notes that two of five patients mentioned “tested positive for human enterovirus-68, which had previously been associated with polio-like symptoms, but three did not.” Also covering the story are the FOX News (2/24) website and HealthDay (2/24, Gray).
Article courtesy American Medical Association
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