Report on the 2018 Acute Flaccid Myelitis Outbreaks in the USA

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.21

Keywords:

Acute Flaccid Myelitis, EVD-68, EVA-71, Outbreak, Epidemiology

Abstract

An increase in the number of Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) cases reported in the USA was detected in August 2018. The CDC has confirmed 186 cases of AFM in 2018 making this the largest outbreak of AFM reported in the USA. The cause however remains unknown. In this watching brief we review key features of the current outbreak in context, describe what is known about AFM, and consider probable causes. A two-year epidemic cycle of AFM appears to be emerging, and most current evidence implicates both EV-A71 and EV-D68 as the probable cause of the current outbreak yet key questions remain.

Author Biography

Dillon C Adam, University of New South Wales

Dillon is a PhD candidate within the Kirby Institute’s Biosecurity Program. His research is focused infectious disease epidemiology, phylogenetics, and outbreak preparedness.

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Published

2019-02-14

How to Cite

Adam, D. C. (2019). Report on the 2018 Acute Flaccid Myelitis Outbreaks in the USA. Global Biosecurity, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.21

Issue

Vol. 1 (2019)

Section

Watching Briefs

License

Copyright (c) 2019 The Author(s)

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Received 2019-01-07
Accepted 2019-01-20
Published 2019-02-14