Via CBC News: Cases of rare, polio-like paralysis targeting kids appear in Canada. Excerpt:
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported a small surge in cases of a mysterious disease in children. More than 60 cases of the polio-like illness have been confirmed in 22 U.S. states in recent weeks. Now, doctors in Toronto say they're seeing cases appear in Canada.
"I can confirm that since September, we have certainly seen an increase of patients with muscle weakness who also had a preceding viral illness," said Dr. Jeremy Friedman, associate pediatrician-in-chief at the Hospital for Sick Children. "These symptoms are typical of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and increases of similar cases have been reported by many other North American pediatric centres."
Doctors do not know what causes the ailment, nor are they sure why more cases have been reported recently. Children are the victims in the vast majority of cases and doctors are not exactly sure why.
Dr. Friedman would not give an exact figure on the number of new cases in Canada, but did say SickKids has seen "fewer than 20 probable cases of AFP."
Canada has systems in place, led by the Public Health Agency of Canada, to look for cases of sudden onset muscle weakness in children.
Last Thursday, Public Health Agency of Canada spokesperson Anna Maddison said in an email there were fewer than five cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a subtype of AFP, reported from January to August 2018.
On Monday, the agency provided an update based on the broader definition of AFP.
"To date in 2018, 25 probable cases and five confirmed cases of sudden onset muscle weakness in children have been reported. This reporting includes a variety of conditions related to sudden onset muscle weakness in children," said Maddison, who also serves as a spokesperson for Health Canada, said in an email.
"Currently, the surveillance data do not indicate an increase in the number of potential cases in Canada."
The agency also said it is enhancing real-time surveillance of AFP based on the increase reported in the U.S.
