acute flaccid myelitis

noun

: a serious, rare, neurological condition of sudden onset chiefly affecting young children that causes inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord, results in severe, sometimes permanent weakness and loss of muscle tone especially of the arms or legs, and is often preceded by a viral respiratory illness or fever

Note: In addition to the limbs, acute flaccid myelitis may also involve the face, neck, or torso with symptoms including facial droop, slurred speech, difficulty in swallowing, and respiratory failure. While a virus (such as an enterovirus, poliovirus, or flavivirus) is often the cause of acute flaccid myelitis, other causes may include environmental toxins and autoimmune disorders, or the cause may be unknown.

Symptoms associated with acute flaccid myelitis tend to occur about a week after children develop a fever and respiratory illness, causing some to lose the ability to move their face, neck, back, arms or legs.

—Lauren Sausser

… he appears to have acute flaccid myelitis, a strange and rare paralysis that mainly afflicts children between 4 and 8.

—Anne Saker

—abbreviation AFM

Examples of acute flaccid myelitis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Symptoms of acute flaccid myelitis include limb weakness and paralysis. —Faye Chiu, CNN, 23 Sep. 2024

Wastewater samples have detected a significant escalation in an enterovirus called D68, which, in rare cases, has been linked to acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. —Erika Edwards, NBC News, 17 Sep. 2024

Nevertheless, its spread is troubling because the virus can lead to a rare and debilitating neurological condition called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. AFM attacks motor neurons in the spinal cord’s gray matter, which controls movement. —Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2024

There is no specific treatment for acute flaccid myelitis. —Faye Chiu, CNN, 23 Sep. 2024

This time, doctors diagnosed her with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM,) which the CDC says is a serious neurological condition that causes the muscles and reflexes in the body to become weak. —Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 2 Nov. 2023

The Albany 15-year-old has acute flaccid myelitis, a rare but serious neurological condition that has immobilized all but her left hand and feet. —Andrew Saylor, oregonlive, 24 July 2023

One enterovirus, called EV-D68, is associated with a polio-like neurologic condition called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in young children, and health officials are bracing for a subsequent uptick in AFM cases. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 24 Oct. 2022

The rise might be more specifically attributed to enterovirus D68, which, in rare cases, can lead to acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. —Carma Hassan, CNN, 27 Sep. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

2014, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

acute flaccid myelitis

noun

: a serious, rare, neurological condition of sudden onset chiefly affecting young children that causes inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord, results in severe, sometimes permanent weakness and loss of muscle tone especially of the arms or legs, and is often preceded by a viral respiratory illness or fever

Note: In addition to the limbs, acute flaccid myelitis may also involve the face, neck, or torso with symptoms including facial droop, slurred speech, difficulty in swallowing, and respiratory failure. While a virus (as an enterovirus, poliovirus, or flavivirus) is often the cause of acute flaccid myelitis, other causes may include environmental toxins and autoimmune disorders, or the cause may be unknown.

—abbreviation AFM