Socially distracting steps may stop the spread of more than just coronavirus.
Acute mushy myelitis (AFM) is a rare polio disease that targets children and can cause paralysis – or even fatal. The outbreak has surged in a bigger wave of infection across the US every other summer since 2012, but doctors hope America will avoid the anticipated outbreak for this season thanks to physical distance.
“[There] is a good opportunity, based on data that has been analyzed, and only theoretically thought, that we can distance the social distance from this year’s EV-D68 outbreak, which will be fantastic, “pediatric infectious doctor Kevin Messacar said Gizmodo, refers to the virus that causes AFM.
Both EV-D68 and polio are enteroviruses, which generally cause mild infections but cannot be treated with symptoms similar to the common cold, according to to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Polio and AFM are exceptions, but polio has been eradicated from much of the world thanks to a highly effective vaccine. AFM cannot be cured and there is currently no vaccine to prevent it.
Enterovirus is spread by close contact with infected individuals, so scientists hope the lack of contact will reduce the number of infections. (However, it is suspected that the EV-D68 is not the only cause of AFM.)
Whether distance can stop this summer’s spike is very much dependent on how well Americans continue social distance.
“This year really depends on how strict the steps are implemented and if people obey them,” Messacar said.
It is also possible that, if the US misses the surge in AFM this summer, the illness will return stronger than next summer. If children avoid disease this summer, it means that next summer there will be higher levels of children without immunity.
“With all these respiratory viruses, you have many people who haven’t been infected for a long time,” Messacar said. “So you have the potential to have a larger vulnerable group in the coming season. And no one knows what will happen in that scenario. “
However, Messacar believes avoiding this year’s summer outbreak will be the best, giving scientists valuable months to continue researching the disease, and hopefully having better prevention and treatment options with or before the next outbreak.
“You basically buy time if you delay the plague, which is good news,” he said.
