Virus may be causing polio-like illness in children, researchers say

New research supports the theory that a virus is responsible for acute flaccid myelitis — the rare, polio-like condition affecting children nationwide, reports STAT.

More than 500 children nationwide have been diagnosed with AFM since 2015, and the exact cause of the illness is unknown.

In a new study, researchers used an experimental technique to analyze the spinal fluid of 42 AFM patients. They found antibodies for enteroviruses, a group of viruses that includes poliovirus and EV-D68, which is "the leading suspect for causing AFM," according to STAT.

The findings do not offer definitive evidence that EV-D68 is responsible for AFM, as evidence of other viral infections was also found in the spinal fluid. However, the study does bring researchers one step closer to proving enteroviruses are causing the illness.

"Finding evidence of antibodies in spinal fluid in response to the virus is an important first step toward a diagnostic test for AFM and a path toward treatment," the CDC, which participated in the research, told STAT.

The study was published in the preprint journal and features work from 17 labs in the U.S. and Canada.

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