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Second Case of Polio-Like Disease Confirmed in South Carolina

Like the first one, this case is in the Upstate, though no further information is available, said Tommy Crosby, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Credit: Bart Boatwright/ Greenville News
Physical therapist Chelsie Reed works with 3-year-old Preslee Holcomb, who was the first child to get AFM in South Carolina this year, Monday, October 22, 2018 at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville.

Greenville, SC (Greenville News) - A second case of acute flaccid myelitis has been confirmed in South Carolina so far this year, health officials said.

Like the first one, this case is in the Upstate, though no further information is available, said Tommy Crosby, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Related: Cases of Polio-Like Illness Rising Across the Country, CDC Says

The first case occurred in 3-year-old Preslee Holcomb of Greer, who is a patient at Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville.

AFM is a rare and poorly understood polio-like disease that strikes the nervous system, causing muscles to become weak, resulting in a kind of paralysis, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Related: People in 22 States Were Diagnosed with This Rare Polio-Like Disease. What to Know About AFM

As of this week, the CDC has confirmed another 10 cases, bringing the total confirmed to 90 cases in 27 states. So far there have been no deaths.

But some 252 patients are under investigation for AFM, up 33 since last week, CDC said.

Fewer than one in a million people get the illness, which has been linked to a variety of possible causes, including a cold virus known as enterovirus D68, the CDC reports. Most cases occur in the late summer and fall.

Researchers don’t know the specific cause, who is most at risk, or the long-term effects, noting that some patients recover quickly while others continue to suffer paralysis.

Statewide, there was one case of AFM in 2014, when U.S. health officials first began noticing an increase, and five in 2016, with none in 2015 and 2017, mirroring national trends.

Nationally, the number appears to be climbing again this year.

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