PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – Health officials in South Dakota are investigating a reported case of a mysterious paralyzing illness that has affected dozens of children around the country.
If confirmed, the individual would be the first person in the state to contract acute flaccid myelitis. The person is a young adult who had a respiratory illness with a fever before developing muscle weakness.
State epidemiologist Joshua Clayton says the condition affects the nervous system and causes muscles to weaken. Sometimes it is preceded by a viral infection, but there is no specific cause.
There have been 106 confirmed cases of the condition in 29 states this year. Most of the people affected by the illness have been children.
