On Dec. 10, 2018, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a record 158 confirmed cases of the polio-like condition known as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in 36 states. The number surpassed the previous record of 149 confirmed cases in 39 states in 2016.1 As of Dec. 21, 2018, confirmed cases of AFM climbed to 182 in 39 states—an 18 percent increase over 2016.1 The CDC is investigating another 154 possible cases of AFM or “PUIs” (patients under investigation). States reporting the highest number of confirmed cases of AFM include Texas (25), Colorado (15), Ohio (12), New Jersey (10) and Washington (10).2
The CDC began recording cases of AFM in 2014. That year, 120 cases were confirmed in 34 states, followed by 22 cases in 17 states in 2015. In 2017, there were 35 confirmed cases of AFM in 16 states.3
While the cause of AFM is not known, health officials know that AFM involves inflammation of the spinal cord. What remains a mystery is the cause of the inflammation. Nancy Messonnier, MD of the CDC has stated that AFM “seems to be more of an autoimmune syndrome, as opposed to a direct result of a virus.” Dr. Messonnier has compared AFM to what happens with the autoimmune neurological disorder known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), in which the immune system attacks healthy nerve cells in the peripheral nervous system.4
On Nov. 19, 2018, the CDC created a task force to investigate the cause of AFM. According to CDC director Robert Redfield, MD, the 16-member Acute Flaccid Myelitis Task Force “will ensure that the full capacity of the scientific community is engaged and working together to provide important answers and solutions to actively detect, more effectively treat, and ultimately prevent AFM and its consequences.”5
Members of the Acute Flaccid Myelitis Task Force include: Ruth Lynfield, MD (co-chair) of the Minnesota Department of Health, Jill Taylor, PhD (co-chair) of the New York State Department of Health, Bonnie Maldonado, MD of the Stanford University School of Medicine, Emily Erbelding, MD, MPH of the National Institutes of Health. These four are members of the CDC’s Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) of the Office of Infectious Diseases (OID).6
AFM clinical research experts on the task force include: Leslie Benson, MD of Boston Children’s Hospital; Benjamin Greenberg, MD, MHS of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Bryan Grenfell, PhD of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; Tory Johnson, PhD, Arun Venkatesan, MD, PhD and Carlos Pardo-Villamizar, MD of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Kevin Messacar, MD of the University of Colorado School of Medicine; John Modlin, MD of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Avi Nath, MD of the National Institutes of Health; Matthew Schniederjan, MD of the Emory University School of Medicine; Nathaniel Smith, MD, MPH of the Arkansas Department of Health and Ken Tyler, MD of the University of Colorado School of Medicine.6
The AFM Task Force met in Atlanta, Georgia and presented its initial report at the BSC public meeting on Dec. 6, 2018. Themes covered in the presentation included:
- Important to have strong collaboration encompassing CDC, NIH, expert academic partners and health departments
- Need for understanding CNS (central nervous system) damage: direct pathogen effects, immune response
- Non-human primate model and other model systems may be useful
- Continue work on pathogen detection
- Review and summarize clinical phenotypes of cases
- Strengthen case identification and surveillance
- Work with partners to optimize recognition of AFM
- Utilize surveillance for risk factor and other studies
- Strengthen and expand education and communication outreach
- Implement natural history study to better understand pathogen(s), pathogenesis and long-term outcomes
- Continue close dialogue with parents and families on a variety of issues
- Medical record interoperability7
References:
1 Vaidya A. CDC: 182 confirmed AFM cases in 2018 so far. Becker’s Hospital Review Dec. 27, 2018.
2 Hackett DW. 17 Additional AFM Cases Reported. Precision Vaccinations Dec. 27, 2018.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. AFM Investigation. CDC.gov.
4 Cáceres M. AFM Compared to Guillain-Barré Syndrome. The Vaccine Reaction Nov. 21, 2018.
5 TVR Staff. CDC Creates AFM Task Force. The Vaccine Reaction Nov. 28, 2018.
6 CDC. CDC Acute Flaccid Myelitis Task Force Members. CDC.gov.
7 CDC. AFM Task Force Report. CDC.gov.
13 Responses
…and they’re still looking for a pathogen. Good luck with that! Sadly, they will find something —anything— other than the true cause, which is neurological insult and injury from the chemicals forced into our bodies via vaccines.
AFL? Oh, you mean that phoney disease called Polio that just continues to plague mankind through repeated poisoning from every direction. ROFLMAO
Yeah, get some more people from the CDC to be on the task force investigating this nightmare and they’ll be developing another freakin vaccine for it!!!
The CDC is admitting that is is incredibly stupid. Here are links which state the truth.
https://healthfreedomidaho.org/return-of-polio-six-studies-linking-acute-myelitis-aka-paralysis-to-vaccines11
https://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/scientific-review-paper-how-vaccines-have-been-causing-cancers-paralysis-and-death-for-decades/
What exactly are they saying is the difference between Guillian-Barre syndrome and AFM?
No pathogen, simply chemicals from so called medicines, reallly, we all know what is happening. Why spend our money researching it further. We the public know that doctors are not what they used to be, nothing but pharmaceutical pimps, how sad.
Great. Another urgent need to torture and mutilate non-humans in a quest for stacks of data declared completely irrelevant to humans and totally useless for the human condition at hand.
Could this be a mutation of the polio virus? There were still cases out there. Contrary to popular belief, we didnt eradicate it. Not everyone got vaccinated. So there opportunities and time to mutate.
“Need for understanding CNS (central nervous system) damage: direct pathogen effects, immune response”.
Oh, so they will finally be looking at vaccines? Oh no, that’s right … they are safe and effective as shown by the 4 Billion paid out in damages.
Confirmed how? Bull!! Isolated a virus present in millions of particles in blood? Fluid of spinal chord? And in every case? This confirmation before isolation is obfuscation.and without a full, detailed forensic epidemiological study is a total farce on the people. Koch’s postulates abandoned since Polio. Anything goes causation now the norm. Worthless pharma drugs and vaccines the result.
Is anyone investigating a possible link to pesticides or other environmental toxins? If you are looking for some great reading, I highly recommend The Moth in the Iron Lung: a biography of Polio. https://www.amazon.com/Moth-Iron-Lung-Biography-Polio/dp/1717583679
“Polio has not been eradicated by vaccination, it is lurking behind a redefinition and new diagnostic names like viral or septic meningitis….According to one of the 1987 issues of the MMWR, there are some 30,000 to 50,000 cases of
viral meningitis per year in the United States alone. That’s where all those 30,000-50,000 cases of polio disappeared after the introduction of mass vaccination” Viera Scheibner, ,PHD
Why injections increase the risk of polio is unclear. Nevertheless, these studies and others indicate that “injections must be avoided in countries with endemic of poliomyelitis, Health Authorities believe that all “unnecessary” injections should be avoided as well. The New England Journal of Medicine 1995
So, when you hear aseptic Viral Meningitis or Meningitis outbreak, *THINK Polio.*
Researchers have known since the early 1900’s that paralytic poliomyelitis often started at the site of an injection. When diphtheria and pertussis vaccines were introduced in the 1940’s, cases of paralytic poliomyelitis skyrocketed. Lancet 1949
Children who received DPT (diphtheria, tetanus & pertussis) injections were significantly more likely than Controls to suffer paralytic poliomyelitis within the next 30 days. According to the authors, “this study confirms that injections are an important cause of provocative poliomyelitis” Journal of Infectious Disease 1992
Charles Robert Richet, awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on anaphylaxis stated, “We are so constituted that we can NEVER receive other protein’s into the blood than those that have been modified by digestive juices. Every time alien protein penetrates by effraction, the organism suffers and becomes resistant”. Meaning, the proteins hypersensitizes the immune system, leading to anaphylactic shock & the body will develop diseases. So, THEY have known for years what causes disease & sickness for quite some time folks.
Excellent!!