DETROIT – Michigan has confirmed its first case of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in 2020, a rare condition that attacks the nervous system, specifically in children. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Service (MDHHS) confirmed the first case in a child in Macomb County. As of June 30, the CDC had confirmed 13 cases of AFM in 10 states for 2020, mostly in children. We have seen increases in AFM cases in the U.S. every other year starting in 2014. CDC has tested many different specimens from AFM patients for a wide range of pathogens (germs) that can cause AFM.

(CNN) - Researchers found evidence of what might cause acute flaccid myelitis, known as AFM, a rare polio-like illness that affects children. Since the first cases were documented in 2012, scientists have debated how children get AFM, which can cause weakness and paralysis. Until recently, evidence of a virus was only circumstantial and couldn't be found in 98% of AFM patients who had their spinal fluid tested, according to the study. We think finding antibodies against enterovirus in the spinal fluid of AFM patients means the virus really does go to the spinal cord. A study published in August in the journal mBio used another method and found antibodies to enteroviruses in 11 of 14 AFM patients.

Last year saw the highest number of cases of acute flaccid myelitis so far -- 233 confirmed cases in 41 states. So far this year, there have been 11 confirmed cases in eight states out of 57 patients under investigation. The CDC estimates it affects fewer than 1 or 2 in a million children each year in the United States. "AFM is a devastating illness for patients and their families," Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC's principal deputy director, told reporters Tuesday. The CDC escalated its response to the illness, more than doubling the number of staffers working on AFM late last year.