Sixth Washington child hospitalized with mysterious illness, health officials say

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- State and local health officials on Thursday said they are investigating a possible sixth case of a rare nervous system disorder that causes sudden limb paralysis in children.

The condition is called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, which attacks the nervous system, particularly the spinal cord, and can lead to arm or leg weakness and loss of muscle reflexes.

The Washington Department of Health said Wednesday that the children are 6 or younger. They had symptoms of a respiratory illness in the week before developing symptoms of AFM.

The first five possible cases affected children in King, Pierce, Lewis and Snohomish counties. The newest case is in Skagit County.

“At this point, there isn’t evidence that would point to a single source of illness among these cases,” said Dr. Scott Lindquist, state infectious disease epidemiologist at the Department of Health. “We’re working closely with medical providers and public health agencies. We’ll continue to investigate and share information when we have it.”

Specialists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control will confirm the diagnoses. The CDC says the condition is not new but there's been an increase in cases starting in 2014.

For the first nine months of this year, 38 people in 16 states have been confirmed to have AFM.

There was a cluster of nine cases of AFM in Washington state back in 2016 and three cases last year. One case was reported earlier this year.

The cause of the condition is unknown but the key symptom to look for is weakened limbs and loss of feeling in the arms or legs.

The Department of Health issued the health notice on Wednesday: