Outbreak of Mysterious Paralyzing Condition Squashed by COVID–19 Pandemic
14 MARCH 2021
The grim pall of the COVID-19pandemic ensures that 2020 will go down as an infamous year in the history of human disease.
But this dark chapter held some surprises we can be thankful for, too. In a new study, researchers found that a predicted 2020 outbreak of a mysterious paralyzing illness failed to materialize on schedule – and in a weird way, we actually have the coronavirus to thank for it.
The condition in question is called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). This polio-like neurological disease mainly affects children, causing muscle weakness and, in some cases, permanent paralysis and even death.