The presence of a rare disease that nearly paralyzes children has been confirmed in Ohio and the Union County Health Department (UCHD) is taking steps to prepare for it, should it ever reach the county.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a disease that weakens the muscles, making it difficult to move or breathe. The condition can be deadly. It affects mostly children and shares traits with polio and West Nile Virus. First appearing in 2014, the number of cases has increased recently. As of Thursday, four cases have been reported in Ohio, one as close as Pickaway County.
UCHD Health Commissioner Jason Orcena said the health department is doing its best to monitor the disease, but it’s difficult because there is not a lot of information on it.
“(AFM) is not unknown, but there’s not a high number of case counts,” Orcena said. “Part of what we’re doing right now is making sure our physicians know what signs and symptoms to look for and what to consider.”
Scientists don’t even know the cause of the disease. Orcena said the concern about the illness comes from the fact that the morbidity rate is high, even if the case count is low.
Orcena said AFM commands a lot of attention from news media outlets, but common illnesses like the flu pose a greater threat to public health.
He said people tend to fixate on a new “novel disease” more than they would the flu. He said people take a big risk when they downplay the severity of lesser illnesses.
“Every year, literally thousands of people die from influenza, literally every year,” Orcena said. “But convincing folks to… do all of these things we know will keep you healthy… convincing folks how important that is really is incredibly difficult and that’s a risk that’s real and present every season.”
He said a big challenge is educating people on the risk behind common diseases. He used the example of measles which he said people often dismiss because they think it’s just a childhood disease.
UCHD epidemiologist Mary Salimbene Merriman said whenever a new disease comes out, there is a larger panic about it. She said this is alleviated after the UCHD can properly educate people.
Merriman cited the Zika Virus. She said it wasn’t new to public health departments, but created a big scare nationally. The fear came from citizens not knowing how prevalent or powerful yhe virus was.
“We focus a lot on making sure we educate the public, physicians and healthcare providers,” she said. “Yes, people might be fearful early on, but as we get that education out to the public, that’s the reason why people after a certain period of time are like, ‘I’ve been educated on what this illness is… I’m no longer as panicked.’”
Orcena said there are diseases that make it to the mainstream media that do claim more victims, such as H1N1. He said “there was a reason to be concerned, and we were concerned,” as the threat was closer to home and harder hitting. H1N1 was more than just a scare.
Merriman and Orcena recommended residents treat AFM seriously, but also treat other illnesses seriously. They said residents should continue monitoring their children to see if they have symptoms for not just AFM, but for anything else.
Since the flu season is approaching, Merriman and Orcena recommended getting a flu shot. If residents need help getting one, the health department can assist them.