A rare illness is causing concern for parents nationwide as cases seem to be increasing, but doctors still aren't sure exactly what's causing it.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting 127 patients are under investigation for Acute Flaccid Myelitis or AFM.
According to the CDC, 62 cases of the rare but serious condition have now been confirmed in 22 states.
"This is truly a mystery disease," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said. "We actually don't know what is causing this increase. For some previous cases we have identified one pathogen or another but we have no unifying diagnosis."
LSU Health pediatric neurologist Dr. Jessica Gautreaux said while Louisiana does not yet have a confirmed case of AFM, there are some suspected cases now under investigation in the state.
AFM suddenly affects the nervous system, specifically part of the spinal cord.
"It's significant weakness," Gautreaux said. "The limb loses tone, so it becomes flaccid, that's where the flaccid part comes from and you loose your reflexes in that limb as well."
More than 90 percent of the confirmed cases have been in children, 18 and younger, with the average age being 4 years old.
Health officials admit some of the same viruses that can cause the common cold or sniffles, can also in rare cases cause AFM.
There is no known treatment and the long-term outcomes are unknown.
"Some kids appear to improve and at the end of the course have minimal deficits," Gautreaux said. "But, there appears to be another end of this spectrum that don't appear to improve much and remain with permanent weakness in the affected limb."
Cases of AFM have been on the rise since 2014.
The infection rate fluctuates from year to year since then, with even-numbered years seeing a larger number of infections than odd-numbered years.
In 2014, there were reports of 120 cases nationwide, then just 22 cases the following year.
Infections rebounded with a sharp increase in 2016, when 149 cases were reported.
This year there have been a total of 62 cases so far, with a total of 386 confirmed cases in the past five years.
"The best way that we know of so far to prevent this is to keep up to date on your vaccinations and to practice good hand washing, at least 20 seconds of scrubbing underwater with soap," Gautreaux said.
You should also get medical attention as soon as possible if your child suddenly becomes weak in the arms or legs.
While the cause of AFM is not clear, experts say it can occur as a result of a variety of viral illnesses including the polio virus, enteroviruses, West Nile virus, and adenoviruses.
Paul Murphy can be reached at pmurphy@wwltv.com.