ATLANTA (CBS) — One case of the rare, polio-like disease acute flaccid myelitis has been confirmed in Oklahoma, officials say.
Officials with the Oklahoma State Department of Health say it had referred a case from this summer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The CDC has now categorized the case as AFM,” Department of Health spokesman Tony Sellars said. “However, we have not yet received lab results.”
The OSDH says the Oklahoma resident is less than 18 years of age. Officials say this is not considered a public health threat, so they will not release which part of the state the case was confirmed in, or any other details.
Acute flaccid myelitis, known as AFM, affects the body’s nervous system, specifically the spinal cord, and can cause paralysis. Unlike polio, there is no vaccine for AFM.
Wednesday (Oct. 17), the CDC said there were 62 confirmed cases of AFM in the United States. Six children in Minnesota were diagnosed with the disease since mid-September.
